The Way They'd Planned
by Record Cover
Summary: RikkuGippal: Because sometimes, things don't go the way they've been planned to have. Oneshot turned fic. CHAPTER 5 UP.
1. Chapter 1

**The Way They'd Planned  
Record Cover  
**

* * *

Gippal smirks. He'd planned on making Rikku jealous, maybe blush a little. Because he knows how to make her feel that way. And cause, just cause, it's fun being with her and talking to her like that. Because he loves seeing the way she blushes and squirms and the way she laughs, the way she moves… 

"You've got competition, kid."

"What?"

"I think Nhadala's sister likes me."

"Oh. Okay."

"You're alright with that?"

Rikku makes a horrified face.

"Why wouldn't I be!"

"Come on, I know you like me,"

"Yeowch. You're getting ahead of yourself there."

"Sweetie, it's okay. I understand. The rest of Spira like me too, you know,"

"No, they don't. A third of them were panicking whilst _you_ went on AWOL."

"Wow, Cid's girl, you learnt a new word."

"Yeah. I got it off Buddy."

Rikku feels proud and a sudden surge of affection for the Gullwings makes her smile inwardly.

"Remind me to give him a kiss. I need to congratulate him."

"Eww.. Gross."

"But come on, Riks, you know you love me."

"Yeah… yeah, maybe I do."

"Just as much as Nhadala's sister does, uh huh,"

He smirks again, not taking her seriously.

Rikku sighs and gazes into the Moonflow. _So this is still Gippal… being… Gippal_.

_Manipulative Bitch,_ she thinks. _He knows exactly how to pull on my strings_.

"I do too. Uh. Deep, deep, deep inside. Somewhere."  
He glances quickly down at the belts crossed over his chest; _just in case, I really do like Cid's girl,_

Rikku lets out a noise of disbelief.

"Deep down? _Deep_ down? I doubt you go in that far. You're too shallow for that, Gippal."

"What would you know, Cid's girl, you've never given me the chance."

Gippal's voice softens, and suddenly, Rikku feels awkward and nervous and _tingly all over_.

"Anyway," Gippal's voice is brisk once more.

"What are we doing here?"

"Skipping my meeting."

"Oh. Aww…"

"Huh."

"Nothing."

"You expected some romantic answer then?"

"N-no!"

"Alright, then I won't give you one. Too bad."

Rikku pouts and Gippal grins in response.

"So what's her name? Nhadala's sister?"

"I duno, can't remember. It's somethin' like… Anouk. Annek. Anekka."

"Hehe"

"What?"

"That's a funny name."

"So is yours, Neggi."

"Hey! My name's already in Al Bhed! You can't put it into Al Bhed all over again!"

"Can too."

"Says who!?"

"Says… me."

"That's right, says _Kebbym_."

"Crid ib,"

Rikku smiles widely. She knows she's won that round.

"She's kinda cute. Nhadala's sister."  
He drags up the subject again; they're straying off the topic and he doesn't want that.

"Ooh…" Rikku feigns interest. "That's too cool." She resists the urge to roll her eyes. _Honestly, who does he think he **is**? Does it really look like I **care**?_

"Cuter than you anyway," Gippal scoffs.

"Yeah, sure,"

"Nah.. Not as cute as you…"

"Oh, I know."

Gippal rolls his eye.

"You know, Gippy, whatshisname, at the Faction, he's kinda cute too."

"Who?! Is he Al Bhed? What's he look like?"

Gippal can't hide his curiosity- or his jealousy, for that matter. A million questions burst in his mind, about that guy, _the guy that Rikku's interested in_.

Rikku giggles.

"Jealous?"

"No."

"Well I won't tell you then."

Gippal pauses.

"..Okay, okay, I'm jealous, you got me."

Rikku's smile widens.

"Well.. He's Al Bhed. And he's got goggles. But he's so cute!"  
Rikku giggles to herself like an infatuated thirteen year old, blushing crimson at the thought.

Gippal's eye narrows.

"Yeah, because Al Bhed and Goggles totally narrows it down to just one guy,"

"He's the one that's always hanging out right there in the lobby the moment you walk in,"

"Uhh…"

"He's got his hair like how Keyakku used to do it, remember? And he's always got this arrogant smirky expression on his face but he's so cute! And he talked to me once and I--"  
Rikku's eyes brighten.

"He's so buff!"

She giggles again madly.

Gippal lets out a sigh.

"Still dunno him."

"Well, I don't see why you should be concerned, as far as I know, it's anyone but _you_, mister,"

"No duh, Captain Obvious! I don't wear goggles, nor do I put my hair up like an idiot."

"Don't call Keyakku an idiot!"

"I didn't, I called his hairstyle idiotic."

"What would you know," Rikku snaps. "Yours isn't much better,"

She glares at the shock of blonde hair sticking up in the air.

"Yeah, yeah."

Gippal tugs on one of the long braids that spilled over Rikku's bandanna. How he wanted to just run his fingers through the long golden shiny hair.

Rikku sighs and throws herself backward onto the soft grass.

"I think I'm in love," She says.

Gippal's eye flashes with another spark of curiosity and jealousy before he flops himself onto the ground next to her.

"With who? Goggles?"

Gippal's voice is soft and small again. All arrogance and superiority is gone.

"I'm not telling you," Rikku teases. "And no, it's not Goggles I'm in love with. I just think he's sexy."

"Why not? Sheesh, woman. He can't be any sexier than I am, I'm the prettiest boy in D'jose."

"Because, I'd be in trouble then.. and unfortunately, Gippal, you hold that title no more. Tidus took it off you the other day."

"Why?" Gippal wonders why she'd be in trouble if he ever found out exactly who it was she was in love with. He chose to ignore, however, her last comment on Tidus- _Stupid ditz. The only thing he's good at is Blitzball. He's got no brains._ Gippal fumes silently, although he doesn't know why.

"I think it's unrequited."

"What is?"

"What do you think?"

"Uh, your love for this guy?"

"Yeah… bingo. Ten points to Gippal the jackass!"

Rikku's voice is triumphant, Gippal knows, but he can't tell wether it's sarcastic or hurt or genuine. For once, he finds himself unable to read her like a book.

"Who is he?"

"It doesn't matter, Gips. What will you do anyway?"

"Well… is he hurting you?"

"Hurting me? Yes, he is. All the time. Always, always, always."

"Then I can hurt him too?"

"I think you'll find that rather hard to do."

"Why, do I know him?"

"Better than you think you do. What is this anyways, twenty questions?"

Rikku frowns and rolls over onto her side. She traces patterns on the ground, intent on ignoring Gippal.

"He doesn't know you like him, does he."

Gippal stares at the back of her head. The conversation definitely wasn't going the way he had planned it to.

"No, Gippal, he doesn't. Because he's a jerk. He's never noticed me. Maybe its because I'm too young or too short or not pretty enough. Maybe it's because he thinks I've got nothing worth looking at or paying attention to."

He hates how her voice is sharp and bitter.

"Cred. Telgrayt."

Gippal doesn't want to believe her words. _How could anyone, any man, possibly not notice Cid's girl?_ He wonders incredulously to himself. _How could any man possibly not be wanting Rikku?_ Shiva, even _he_ did. To some extent anyway…

"I'll find out…" Gippal says softly. "He won't get away with it if he's hurting you inside."

--

"Why won't he?"

"I won't let him. No one hurts my girl and gets away with it,"

Rikku's chest pangs.  
_My girl_.  
If only he knew…

Gippal suddenly wishes he hadn't mentioned anything about Annek's advances towards him. He suddenly wishes, that instead, he had started their conversation with, _Rikku, I've got something to tell you_.

He snorts, then feels disgusted a second later.

--

Rikku closes her eyes a moment before sitting up."I think we should get going now."

Gippal sits up next to her, closer now.

"Why?"

His voice is still soft and sweet and gentle. It makes Rikku tingle again.

"You're late."

"I missed it."

"Too bad. Let's go."

Standing up, Rikku dusts herself off.

"I wanted to watch the sun set…"

"Next time."

Rikku offers her hand to Gippal, her eyes desperately hiding her emotion.

She was falling in love with Gippal a little more every day as each one passed… and as long as he never found out, things would still be okay. Things would still be alright as long as she never let him see.. Just what he meant to her.

--

Gippal tries to catch her eye, she looks away. Gippal wonders what's suddenly gotten into her. He feels like… like mush. Gippal hates it when Rikku suddenly goes quiet and flat and all serious when she doesn't need to be, he hates it when her smile falters. And he promises to himself, when he finds the man that's too stupid to notice that she's head over heels for him…

Because, after all, it's not him that Rikku's fallen for, is it. It's someone else… someone he knows. And they're not going to get away with hurting her. He'll make them realise just what kind of a girl Rikku is, more than just a fling, more than just a one night stand.

He has to find out who it is.

Gippal takes her hand and stands up, and they look into each other's eyes, both lost in thought.

Rikku can't help but notice how Gippal's expression suddenly looks wistful, and she wonders why…

Her feelings give a twinge of discomfort. Had she let too much slip? Rikku brushes the feelings away.

_No, Rikku,_ she tells herself firmly. _He doesn't like you. He isn't for you. He's not interested in someone like you. He'll never be, not now. What you had with him is past_.

--

Gippal is lost in his own world.

Who was this man Rikku supposedly loved? Who was this man that was too ignorant to realise? Too ignorant to realise that this girl… was in love with him? Gippal holds back a bitter remark. After all, it isn't her fault that she didn't like him. After all, it wasn't her fault that Gippal had to control himself every time he came near her, that he had to restrain himself from wanting to hug her and never let go.

"Let's go, Rikku,"

He looks into her eyes and she snaps out of her thoughts.

She nods.

"Let's."

This conversation definitely hadn't gone the way he'd planned.

* * *

**Translation:**

"Neggi": Rikku, translated into Al Bhed again.  
"Kebbym": Gippal, translated into Al Bhed again. (Presuming the names Rikku and Gippal are both Al Bhed by default)  
"Crid ib": Shut up  
"Cred. Telgrayt.": Shit. Dickhead.

* * *

**A/N:**

So uh.. there you go? I hope I don't end up deleting this out of fear again. This was a little dialogue only kinda thing. Explains the shortness and lack of detail, yes? This fic was never meant to be detailed anyway. It was also originally a oneshot, but I like where this is going. Should I write more? Although, if I continue to write more, it will be more detailed. In short, this first chapter will stick out like a pain. Oh well, I'll come back later and fix it, neh?

Review review! Do you want to read more? Coz I sure wanna write more XD


	2. Chapter 2

Another update! Yippee. Thank you so much to all reviewers! (Yeah, I know, omg this is three times bigger than the last chapter! SHOCK XD)

* * *

** The Way They'd Planned  
Record Cover**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Aw man, I can't concentrate,"

Gippal slumps back into his chair and rubs his face with his hands.

The last few days had passed, and ever since that little conversation at the Moonflow with Rikku, he hadn't been able to concentrate on any one thing for more than five minutes straight, which, after a while, had proved to be more than just a little problem. He was now in trouble, because, his best friend had finally found someone to give her heart to. And it wasn't him.

Furthermore, you weren't meant to suddenly start liking your best friend, were you.

Gippal looks at the clock set on his wall. It's eleven-thirty in the morning, and he's already ready to excuse himself from work.  
He stands up and leaves his office, making his way out of the temple to take a break.

Gippal hadn't talked to Rikku properly since the day at the Moonflow, either. He had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to talk to her, and it seemed Rikku felt the same way as well.  
To make things simple, Gippal was in dilemma.

He didn't know with whom Rikku's heart lay with, and finally, after so much realization, he had come to the conclusion that he was envious, and felt disappointed. Disappointed in which, he had wanted Rikku to fall in love with _him_, not anyone else. It was too late now.

As Gippal walks down the corridor, he feels guilt and regret fill him. Had he really been that selfish? Had he really expected Rikku to sit there waiting for him, chasing after him, forever? _No_, a small voice in his head says. He wonders wether he can really believe that small voice. Because if he really hadn't expected her to fall for him, he wouldn't have been surprised.

He feels even worse as he continues walking down the stone path, because in the end, it hadn't been anything but Rikku's confession that had woken him to his senses, that had been the event to trigger his realization. Had he really been that conceited to become jealous as soon as he had received the indication that she had found someone that wasn't him?  
He sighs. His normally set mind was now a hazy jumble of this and that, and for once, he didn't know what to do or think next.

Arriving at the workroom, Gippal looks around. He sees Shinra, deep in conversation with Buddy and Brother, all looking down at a piece of machinery. He sees Blappa and Nhadala, who for some reason, aren't at the hover service or in the middle of the desert. He looks around the room. But he still hasn't seen the one person he'd wanted to find- until his sight falls upon one of the hovers.

Two worn out boots stick out from under the hover, and Gippal instantly knows that the boots are Rikku's. He grins to himself, struts over, and squats down next to her feet.

Gippal tugs on Rikku's ankle, hard, smirking. Gasping in surprise, Rikku drops her spanner before promptly hitting her head on the machinery as Gippal pulls her out from under the hover.

She squeaks, rubbing her head.

"Owwie…"

Pouting, she rubs furiously in pain.

Gippal's eye widens.

"Oops.. Oh crap, Riks, sorry," He pushes her hand away to inspect her forehead. A little red mark there, but otherwise, no lasting damage.

"That hurt, meanie! You could've given me some notice!" Rikku punches him on the shoulder and winces as she hurts her knuckles on his shoulder pads. Gippal smirks.

"Yeah, and be like, _'Oh hi, Riks, I'm going to pull you out of the hover so mind your head lest you bump it'_?! I'm not retarded. But sorry…" Gippal adds.

"It's okay,"

Rikku sits in silence, playing with a stray bolt.

Gippal can't help but think how cute she looks today, dressed in one of Brother's old overalls, a t-shirt lying under the denim. A smudge of dirt takes residence upon her right cheek and a stain of grease is smeared on the legs of her overalls. Sweat glistens on her body, shining upon her forehead, nose, biceps and forearms. Rikku lets out a sigh of exhaustion and he grins.

"Tough day?"

"Yeah, this hover's refusing to work!" She flails her leg out in an attempt to kick the stubborn hover.

Gippal grins.

"Hey, let's go out,"

"What? Where?"

"To the bridge, I need some fresh air, and I think you do too,"

"O-okay,"

For a moment, Gippal thinks he can sense reluctance coming from Rikku, but he doesn't understand why. Why she was distancing herself from him these days was a complete mystery to him. He pushes the thought away, because he knows that if she ever really didn't want to go with him, she'd kick him away in an instant. And she hadn't so far, not today. So he decides it's safe.

Standing up, Gippal offers his hand. Rikku shakes her head and makes to get up for herself.

Rikku stands and takes a step before she trips over something on the floor and loses her balance, falling over. She lets out a small yelp and her fingers scrabble against a pile of scrap metal, searching for support. Her hand grasps the sharp edge of a chunk of metal before she loses her hold and falls over completely, her hand sliding down the edge.  
Crashing down onto the floor, she lands backside first.

Gippal lets out a shout and collapses next to her.  
Rikku's head is in a daze.

She sits up again.

"Oww…" Tears of pain sting her eyes as she fights back the urge to laugh at her clumsiness.

"You okay?" Buddy's voice fills her ears; he'd walked over the minute he'd heard the crash. She looks up and nods, letting out a giggle.  
Buddy shakes his head, smiling, and walks away.

For a wild moment, Gippal wonders wether it was Buddy that Rikku was in love with.

Gippal looks down at the girl. Her giggles surprise him; he had expected her to cry out in pain.  
Rikku's giggles fade and she sighs.

"I'm so clumsy," She mumbles, tears of pain prickling at her eyes again. "Owww…" She lets out a moan as she feels a throbbing pain somewhere on her backside, and strangely, on her hand somewhere.

Gippal sighs, ruffles her hair and stares over at the heap of metal on the floor that had caused her fall. Rikku scowls and brushes hair out of her face with her hand when she feels something drop onto the pants of her overalls.

She looks at her left hand. The deep cut she sees open across her palm explains the stabbing pain she feels in her hand. Rikku's eyes widen in surprise.

Gippal looks at her.

"Why is there blood on that--"

He spots her hand and stops in shock. Getting up, he pulls Rikku up with him.

Rikku whimpers in pain as Gippal strides across the room to the exit. She struggles with his grip and attempts to pull away. Gippal stops dead in his tracks and looks down at her.

"We have to get that cleaned up,"

"It's okay! I'm fine, it's just a little cut, it isn't that bad, I--"

"Isn't that bad?" Gippal's eyebrows rise as he glances down at her bleeding hand. Yep, the cut was there, a deep slash that cut open the length of her palm painfully.

"Okay, it's a little painful but I--"

"Rikku!"

Rikku's eyes widen again as he hears the tone of his voice- assertive, but forceful, harsh, but gentle, all at the same time.

"Just let me get it cleaned up, okay?"

Gippal hates things being this way. He hates how Rikku is always too stubborn to listen, always to hot headed to want to admit that she needed help. Moreover, he hates how it's always seems to be just lucky he's there to patch her up or to soothe her pain, what if there was a time in which she got hurt and he wasn't there?  
What if one day, she seriously got into trouble, and he wasn't able to help her? He knew… she didn't have anyone but him. He couldn't understand why she had never asked him to be by her side. Maybe it was because he was always there anyway, even if she couldn't see it. Still, he didn't want to complain. That'd be going too far.

Rikku nods, and holding her hand, he leads her out to the shop just outside the Faction headquarters.

"Wait here," He lets go of her and walks in.

"I need the first-aid kit," He says.

The shopkeeper nods and hands him a bag. Gippal mutters a brief thanks before hurrying back out to Rikku, who sits atop an empty shipment box.

Opening the bag, Gippal takes out a few wipes. He takes Rikku's hand and wipes her arm clean of the blood that had trickled down. He moans.

"You've got to be more careful,"

Rikku bites her lip.

"I'm sorry! I just-- I tripped! It was an accident," Rikku flushes.

"I know," Gippal's voice is soft and gentle as he continues to clean the cut.

He reaches for the antiseptic and Rikku squeaks, attempting to yank her hand away from his grip.

Gippal looks up at her and catches a look of fright in her eyes.

He can't believe it, Rikku- Cid's girl, was afraid of antiseptic? Gippal struggles not to laugh.

"We need to clean that up, kid, it'll get infected,"

"No we don't! It's okay! It's clean now! You can just put the band-aid on and we'll be done!"

"Girl, the metal had rust on it. You need to get that cleaned up."

"It'll hurt!" Rikku lets out another squeak of fright.

He rolls his eye.

"It won't hurt. Much. I promise,"

Taking her hand, Gippal wipes across the cut with the antiseptic-soaked gauze. Rikku gasps as the pain shoots through her palm. Giving it a few last wipes, Gippal throws the gauze into a rubbish bag.

"See, wasn't that bad,"

Rikku frowns.

"We'll bandage it up now," Gippal reaches for a dressing and puts it carefully on her palm before taking out a bandage. He wraps it around her hand securely before clipping it in place at her wrist.

"I want you to take this," He holds up a tiny flask filled with bright green potion.

"What? I don't need antibiotics, it's just a cut,"

"I don't care, you never know, just take it,"

Rikku knows that whatever she says won't persuade him otherwise, and gulps down the potion. It has a funny aftertaste, she thinks. She wonders why Gippal was so uptight about first-aid, and then she realises… his eye…

"You know," She says quietly, "You don't need to make a fuss over me, Gippal,"

Gippal ignores the small queasy feeling that starts to build up at the back of his throat in response to her comment.

He pulls his face into the best grin he can manage.

"But I want to, Cid's girl,"

Gippal stands up, offering his hand again.

"Now… about that walk,"

Rikku smiles and follows him out onto the bridge.

* * *

At the bridge, Gippal leans on the railing. Rikku stands in front of him, looking down at her bandaged left hand. She wonders why Gippal had insisted on taking care of her like that, why he had held her hand so gently… she feels confused. As if she needed another reason to like him… 

Gippal stares over the top of Rikku's head to the water below, glistening in the weak rays of D'jose sunlight. _Well, she didn't pull away,_ he thinks, _so maybe she isn't so reluctant…_ Gippal shakes his head and looks up at Rikku.

"Hi, Cid's girl," He greets her properly, for the first time.

Rikku flushes.

"Hi, Gippal,"

"How've you been this past week? Apart from.. Well, y'know, stacking it on your bum," He grins.

She squawks.

"Oh.. Alright, I guess,"

"That's good…"

Gippal suddenly feels very hot. Wether because of his high neckline, he doesn't know. But he feels the tension awkwardly building up in the air… and looks for a way to break it.

There's silence for a while as each thinks of what to say to break the awkwardness next, until both open their mouths at the same time.

"Gippal-"  
"Rikku, I-"

Rikku laughs.

"You go first," She says, relieved at the broken tension.

"Well… Riks,"

"Yeah?"

"You know there's Yuna's wedding on soon?"

"Mm?"

She teeters back and forth on the spot expectantly. Gippal scowls, he knows she's expecting something from him. Rikku smiles brightly.

"Well.. Uhh.. I was thinking…"

"Thinking?"

"Cut it out, will ya!"

"Cut what out?"

"Repeating the end of my sentences, replying, whatever, just-"

Rikku giggles and sits down on the railing next to him.

She knows, on the inside, both are feeling nervous and awkward. She knows that she isn't the only one treading the water. For now, she'll ignore it and act perfectly fine. Ignore the feeling of uncertainty inside of her.

"Anyway, about this wedding, uhh…"

Gippal looks for the words. How was he to say it?

_Rikku will you come to the wedding with me?  
Will you be my date, Rikku?  
Wanna come with me to the party?_

No matter how he looked at it, he was bound to sound like a complete idiot.

Deciding to take a wild shot at goal, he turns to face Rikku.

"Be my date," He says firmly. He knows it had sounded more like an order than anything, but he can't help it; a guy has to look after his pride.

Rikku raises an eyebrow.

"Haven't you got Annek to take to the wedding?"

"Psh, no,"

"But she was invited. I think," Rikku adds hastily.

"If I wanted to go with her, do you think I would've asked _you_?" Gippal feels annoyed, but he knows she's just playing.

Suddenly, Rikku feels as if there's a balloon of happiness blowing up inside of her. She feels as if she could glow to light up the whole of Spira's vast night sky.

She gives a light smile.

"Alright… if you're that desperate,"

Gippal smirks.

"Yeah, I am,"

For a moment, they look into each other's eyes, before Gippal looks away back out to the sea feeling afraid. Maybe… maybe Rikku's seen the look on his face- the one that really, genuinely, wanted to hold her close and never let go. Ever. He doesn't want to be the thing that gets in the way between her, and her life. He doesn't want her to know, but at the same time, he wants her to know so badly. Gippal can't help but think… well, she had just accepted his invitation, hadn't she? So maybe she wasn't as deep in love as she thought she were, maybe---

Gippal shuns his thoughts. Bad, bad thoughts. He blames his jealous streak.

Rikku doesn't know what to think now.

She had been going on with her life thinking that never, ever, in his right mind would Gippal ever make a move on her, and that their teenage romance had plainly just been fuelled by hormonal fluctuations. But surprisingly, amazingly, he had just done it, and she had accepted it…

_Does that mean he doesn't think of me as just a friend?_ She wonders wether Gippal had ever looked at her as a woman.

Rikku wonders wether Gippal could actually ever have feelings towards her, more than just a best friend, more than just Cid's girl.

Rikku stands up in front of him again, looking into his face. She can't tell what he's feeling; his face looks emotionless.  
Hopping off the railing, she stands in front of him, waiting for something, anything, to happen next.

She didn't know, that Gippal wasn't able to understand his own feelings either.

The tall, blond Al Bhed looks at the girl in front of him, watching her scuff the ground with the toe of her boot. She looks bored. Extending his arms, Gippal reaches out and takes her wounded left hand in his, still leaning against the railing.

Smiling, Gippal flicks her forehead.

"Klutz," He says.

Rikku blinks before smiling back.

"You love this klutz,"

"Oh, I do… I do," He smirks.

A second passes and Gippal gazes at the white bandages for a moment before he spins her around in a circle and pulls her in close. Gippal feels no sign of resistance coming from her body. As much as Gippal doesn't want to touch her for fear of upsetting her, he doesn't want to resist.Rikku leans against Gippal's front and feels his chin rest against her shoulder. She feels his arms encircle her, holding her tight. Feels the rhythm of his breath as his chest rises up and down slowly, calmly.  
Surprisingly, his embrace is warm, loving. His behaviour is mature, in sharp contrast to his usual playful, joking, flirty manner. No bantering, no teasing, no name calling. Just… holding her.  
Rikku closes her eyes and relaxes, taking in the heat. She feels safe, and wonders when it was the last time someone had just held her like that. She can't remember, and feels disheartened.  
Gippal's heart skips a beat as he feels her relax in his arms. He inhales the scent of her hair, and tightens his arms around her waist. He wonders wether he should say something.  
Maybe.. Just maybe, he had a chance with her. Even if right now, she wasn't interested. There was always time for her to change her mind, right?

They stay like that for a while, Rikku rests in Gippal's arms while he leans back against the railing, sitting on top of it slightly. Neither talk until Gippal breaks the silence.

"I missed this…" Gippal's voice is quiet.

Rikku opens her eyes and stares out at the water.

"Missed what?"

Her voice is only a little above a whisper.

"Missed us," He says.

Rikku's lip trembles and she closes her eyes.

"Us?"

"Yeah, us, Rikku. I really did… I still do."

Rikku gulps.

"What were we? Us?"

"A… a couple,"

Gippal suddenly grins as a fond memory flashes in his mind's eye- D'jose. That day he had accidentally-on-purpose let slip that he, indeed, had been Rikku's first boyfriend, and she had turned bright red before pushing him away, denying it all…

Gippal feels Rikku stiffen under his hold.

He leans against the bridge perfectly still. His arms feel frozen as he waits for another response, his heart hammering rapidly in his chest. Something he'd done- something he'd said, had offended or hurt her. What it was though, he didn't know.  
Rikku pulls herself out of Gippal's grasp and almost trips in her hurry. He holds her steady.

"I- Gippa- I've- I'vegottago," She gasps and turns.

Gippal watches her silently as she runs back towards the Faction headquarters. Groaning in frustration, he turns and kicks the bridge. He feels angered at himself, for having said the wrong thing, for having just ruined everything he had going between himself and her. A feeling of dread creeps through his body and he rubs his face again.  
Gippal stays there for a moment, wishing the ground would open and suck him up forever.  
After a while, he calms himself down and steadily makes his way back to the office. There's still that pile of paperwork on his table, waiting for him to complete. Rikku is nowhere in sight.

And, as he trudges up the stairs, he finds himself in exactly the same position as he had been in when he had left his office; confused, disgruntled, upset, and absolutely _nowhere_.

* * *

**A/N:**  
Soo.. the next chapter is here. This chapter has lots of explaining, lots of feelings, and I know it's much, much more different than the first chapter, but I feel it's necessary for the story as it progresses- it's only a developing filler, and all the proper action will come in next chapter. I think it's a little too angsty... but it explains alot about their friendship, such as how Gippal dreads this new guy, because if he takes Gippal's place then he wouldn't be able to look after Rikku anymore and then... 

So please excuse the contrast between the two chapters and.. uhm... be patient. I know, demanding, aren't I. xD More will be added to the first chapter, but I'll have to see as the story continues. There will be more characters in the up coming chapters, so come back :D

**What's happening so far:**  
-From Chapter 1 we know that the two like each other, but miss each other completely and shoot off in the wrong directions.  
-This chapter we know that their little talk has troubled them deeply. Rikku now thinks Gippal isn't interested, and he thinks Rikku doesn't see him because she's got someone else. -Then, Gippal cleans her up after her little accident. Rikku wonders why he wastes his time making a fuss over her.  
-Everything's starting to lighten up again and they're back to being normal.  
-He asks her to be his date for the wedding (Alas, Yuna sent out double invites. xP)  
-Rikku accepts, although she doesn't see why he would be asking her. Gippal feels happy that she's accepted.  
-Then he goes on to say.. I missed us, etc. Suddenly, Rikku goes all edgy and runs off, he doesn't know where to and...

**Next ch:**  
Where does Rikku run off to? Why did she run away? And Gippal decides to confide to his friends his little 'dilemma' .. and earns a little bashing from Paine.

I'll stop my senseless ramblings now  
Please review! What you liked, what you think could be fixed, where you want the story to go... ILU for it :D  
RC


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for the reviews! Here's another update. Enjoy!** Warning:** Fluff, language and themes. Click back if you don't like it.**  
Note:** Hehe, sorry for the re-post! screwed up on me a little, and I was too busy to get to the computer.  
Chapter 4 will be uploaded... shortly.

* * *

**The Way They'd Planned  
Record Cover**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Get off of that backside of yours and get here," 

Cid's gruff tone echoes through the tent. Rikku's eyes snap open and stare up at the canvas ceiling. She fidgets awhile before sitting up. There, right at the flap of the tent, is her father. Cid watches his daughter, his hands set firmly on his hips. He looks at her and nods.

"Come here, girly," He says. "Got something fer you to do,"

Rikku gets off her bedroll and stands up, brushing loose strands of hair off her face and tucking them behind her ears.  
"Hi pops," She says weakly. "Whaddya want?"

Rikku can't be bothered to tell him off for interrupting her nap; she's too tired for that just now.

Cid's eyebrows rise.  
"What's gotten you into a bunch?"

"It doesn't matter, Vydran, what is it?" Rikku asks again calmly.

Cid grunts.  
"I got a job for you to do, and you'll go and do it, you hear?" He says.

"Alright, let's hear. What's this job ya got for me?" Rikku says, her tone perky and excited at the idea of a new job. Digging at Bikanel obviously hadn't been as fun as she'd expected the past week away from D'jose.

"Gotta get you to do some errands for me," Cid says. He walks into the tent and stops a short distance away from his daughter, so much like her mother, beautiful and sprightly, even with sleep in her eyes.  
"You mightn't like them errands, but you'll go do them if you want to keep this tent," Cid looks at his daughter, a shrewd look on his face.

"Fine."

"First, Rikku, I want you to go to Nhadala. You know where she is, she's at the Eastern camp. Tell her I need her to hire a couple o' new diggers, we're running low,"

"That's Gippal's job, to find new diggers," Rikku fidgets with the bandages still on her hand and rubs her eyes.

"I know, but he's got enough on his mind already, baby, I want you to go to Nhadala."

"Alright, alright… no need to yell," Rikku cringes at her father's once again, crass attitude.

"Next?" Rikku asks. She knows there's probably more to it than just dropping Nhadala an order.

"Next, I want you to find that thick-headed, dim-witted excuse of a brother of yours and tell him I want him here in Bikanel."

"He's in D'jose," Rikku says grudgingly, happy mood rapidly dwindling. She shifts her foot and it digs into the rugs laid out on the floor. A pile of sand builds up between two overlapping pieces of woven material.

"I know he's in D'jose, who d'you think I am," Cid looks at her exasperatedly. "And while you're there, I need you to drop this to Gippal," He motions towards a box on the floor next to the tent flap.

"Gippal?" Rikku says. "B-but," She is suddenly aware of how fast her heart beats at the task of having to confront, to meet, Gippal.

"But what?"

"Nothing," Rikku adds hastily. "Okay, pops, I'll go do it,"

Cid looks at her sternly.  
"And I don't want no daughter of mine stuck in Bikanel being miserable I'd rather have yer off playin' about in Luca rather than sulkin' and skulkin' round the desert in a crank mood, you hear me? Good, now get goin',"

And without further ado, Cid turns and walks out of the tent.

Rikku lets out a frustrated call.  
"Do this, do that, it's always something, Vydran, isn't it?!" Scowling, Rikku picks up her scarf.

For a minute, she wonders wether she wants to wear the bright orange scarf anymore. A previously forgotten memory washes into her mind.

--

_Gippal takes Rikku's hand and leads her out into the desert. He stops atop a sand dune and looks at her. Rikku's puzzled expressions peers up at him; he was sixteen and already almost a foot taller than she was. He lets go of her hand._

_"Hey, Riks, I got somethin' for ya," He says casually. He tries to hide the nervousness in his voice._

_"Oh yeah?" Rikku says, amused. "What is it?"_

_"It's-- a--" Gippal trails off. _

_Reaching into a back pocket of his, he pulls out a scarf. It's yellow. The colours change from bright yellow, to a vivid orange, and then to a bright scarlet. It explains the lump that was in his back, she thinks. Her eyes widen slightly._

_"It's a scarf, Riks," He says._

_The corners of Rikku's mouth tug upwards into a small smile._

_"And?"_

_"And…" Gippal says slowly. He looks into her eyes, a brilliant, sparkling, intense green, dark swirls cascading slowly into the centre of her orbs. "I want you to have it," He says. Rikku wants to laugh. It was quite ridiculous, really, Gippal giving someone a present with such genuine intention. Then again, he never missed her birthday either._

_"What? Why?"_

_"I'm leaving soon… you know,"_

_A dark look immediately crosses Rikku's face and she turns around from him, scowling._

_Rikku doesn't want to talk about this, not now, not ever… She doesn't want him to leave. She hates how he wants to play superman all the time, how he always insists that his way is right, how he always makes her feel stupid, how he thinks he needs to prove that's he's capable of it just to want to protect her- because, as far as she knows, he's perfectly able, and he's everything she wants, needs, and then some… She doesn't need to solid proof just to have him stick around…_

_But once again, it's him and his, 'It's the way to do it, Riks,'. It's his arrogance, it's his pride, it's his stupid, snobbish, uncaring, huge, over-inflated ego getting in the way again. _

_A prickle of fear runs through Rikku. No matter how many times she had tried to persuade him otherwise in the past few weeks, he hadn't changed his mind, and, What if Sin gets him?!_

_Rikku trembles and shivers as if a cold gust of wind blows over her, even if they're in the middle of the Desert and twelve noon._

_She doesn't want him to leave… to die. _

_She turns her back on him._

_Gippal senses her sadness and reaches out. His fingertips brush the skin on her arm and goosebumps immediately raise on her tanned flesh. He pulls her around and looks down at her again._

_"I'm not changing my mind, kid," He says slowly, gently._

_Rikku shuts her eyes tight and shakes her head._

_Gippal's fingers take a few pins off the neckline of Rikku's shirt and gathers her fringe. He pins it back neatly so he can see into her face without obstruction. He continues to talk as if he'd never seen her shake her head in protest._

_"So… I wanted you to have this," Gippal's voice is hasty and nervous once more._

_Rikku opens her eyes._

_"It's the least I can do, I guess," He says sheepishly. "I wanted to leave something behind… so you, uh, can… can remember me,"_

_He almost bites his lip and flushes in embarrassment- such words issuing from his own mouth. Such childish, soppy, cheesy words._

_Rikku's lips part and she almost lets out a cry of pain._

_Reaching down, Gippal puts the scarf over her neck. He laughs at the sight; the scarf did not match her outfit of orange top and green shorts. It clashed horribly with the top and goggles. _

_"Well, you look sorta funny with it on now, but save it for a new outfit,"_

_Rikku doesn't say anything, merely bores into his two eyes with her own. She feels like slapping him, like punching him, like screaming at him till her voice grew hoarse with the effort… _

_Her body seems numb and unable to listen to her brain. She's unable to move. Feeling frozen on the spot, her fingers absentmindedly reach up and play with the end of the scarf now around her neck._

_Then-_

_"But why a scarf, Gippal?" She says. "We're in the middle of a desert," Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper._

_"I dunno… I bought it 'coz of the colours, right? They reminded me of you. All red and fiery and bright." He smirks. "I couldn't ignore that scarf. I'd be able to spot it from a hundred metres away," He says. _

_Bending down, he looks straight at her at eye level._

_"Just like you,"_

_Leaning forwards, Gippal presses his lips against Rikku's own. She leans back in shock, but Gippal puts his hands around her waist and takes a step in closer, their mouths never breaking contact. Tilting his head to the side, Gippal brings her in closer. Relaxing, Rikku returns the kiss. _

_She doesn't understand the feelings she feels, there must be a million and one shared between them, just that one moment…_

_He breaks the kiss and pulls away._

_"Besides," He says, his voice cocky once more, albeit slightly breathless. -Rikku was definitely getting better at the whole kissing thing, he thought. "You might get cold, you never wear anything decent," He smirks._

_Rikku bites her lip. Grabbing her, Gippal hugs her tightly into him._

_"Keep this scarf, miss me, want me back every single day… and I'll come back. They can't let me die if I've got my girl waiting for me," He mumbles into her hair. Rikku scowls. He's being cocky again._

_Tucked under his chin, Rikku nods._

_"Okay," She says._

_They share nothing but silence and the warmth of each other's body for a while._

_"I'll come back," Gippal starts. "I'll make it back, and then, you'll know, I'd have proven myself,"_

_Rikku nods again feebly, giving up her protests._

_"Come back soon," She says._

_Gippal nods._

_"I will, princess,"_

-- 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rikku snorts derisively and shakes her head. She walks to the flap of her tent.  
Oh the childishness of teenage romance, she thinks.

But as she picks up the box and walks out into the bright sunshine, she can't help but think._  
This childish romance might be what I'm missing._

* * *

Gippal taps his pen against the edge of the desk in a distracted way. He knows Rikku is to be expected… after all, Cid had told him that he would be ordering Rikku to do the job, hadn't he? And he had found out where she had run off to as well…  
He almost snorts. Rikku, running off into the desert, hair and scarf flying in the wind… Scarf.  
Scarf, he thinks. 

The one he'd given her. He realises something. He realises, that, after all these years, Rikku hadn't lost the scarf… she'd kept it with her all along, and even matched it to her outfit… Did that mean he still meant something to her?  
Gippal feels disappointed and shamed. Had he lost his friend after the day to his stupid, uncaring actions? He knows he shouldn't have touched her or said anything he'd said- even if he knows he doesn't want to take any of it back because it'd just felt so damn right, so damn good. To have her in his arms. Again.  
He wonders wether he'd just lost her as a friend. His ego crashes down. He sets his mind: When she comes, I'm going to ask why.

Even as she'd never told him anything specifically, or even anything otherwise, she was still in love with… him. The guy. The man. Whatever. Whoever it was out there.

He considers regretting his decision to make a move on her, and then decides otherwise. No regrets.

So then, what was he to do?

Gippal flips the pen around in his hand and chucks it into the cup sitting on his desk. Another pile of paperwork to get through.  
He's just considering the idea of getting a secretary when he hears a knock on the door. He jumps out of his skin in surprise and stands up abruptly, his chair falling over backwards.  
Swearing, he straightens the chair up and puts a stray paper back onto the pile waiting innocently on his desk, waiting for completion. Standing up straight, Gippal takes a few long strides around his desk and to the door. He yanks it open and comes face to face with Rikku.

"Oh, hi, Riks," He says weakly, rubbing his side.

"Hi," She says. Gippal notices the way Rikku seems to be avoiding his gaze.

"I've got this for you," She holds up a box.

"Right…" Gippal replies, unsure of how to handle Rikku's distant attitude. Had he really been that… that… pushy? "Right…" He repeats. He pauses. What was he to do next?

"Wanna come in and put the box down?" Gippal's voice is casual and he uses his normal, cocky tone. He doesn't want it to seem like anything's bothering him.

Rikku fumbles with the box uneasily, but follows him in nevertheless, muttering something so feeble he can barely hear it. She sets it down on a nearby table and leans back against the tabletop.  
There's silence where Gippal set about rummaging for something in his filing cabinet, Rikku watches intently.

"Do you have anything to say?" Gippal straightens up from the cabinet and stands in front of Rikku. His eyes look into her face, as if expecting something.

"What?" Rikku's face is blank. Her voice is steady and calm, normal.

"Two weeks ago."

"What about it?"

"Remember that day on the bridge?"

A memory fills Rikku's mind's eye.  
Gippal, pulling her from under the hover.  
Gippal, taking her out of the workshop.  
Gippal, cleaning her cut, forcing antibiotic onto her.  
Gippal, laughing and smirking.  
Gippal, holding her…  
And running away.

"Yeah," Rikku's voice is unsteady.

"Why'd you run?"  
He pushes his luck by making himself seem cool, calm, collected, and blunt. He wants a straight answer, doesn't like being confused. From the signals he was getting, he was barking up the wrong tree, because Rikku didn't like his advances. So he had scared her off. Then again, at the same time, she had accepted his invitation to the wedding as his date. But that was before he had screwed up with all the touchy-feely, right?  
So he wants to know… once and for all, wether she likes him, wether she wants him, or not. If she did, well, all the better for him. If she didn't… he'd just have to get over her, right?

He doesn't know wether their friendship will stay the same after this talk, but he hopes so.

--

Rikku looks at Gippal. Why she'd run? Well wasn't that the most goddamn obvious thing in the whole world?!

She holds her thoughts steady and gathers a nice, neat sentence in her head explaining why she ran.  
How she'd felt.

Alright, so standing there all cuddled up to him had felt nice. And she hadn't done that with him in a long, long while. But she couldn't handle from being best-friend to love-interest without notice. Without warning. So Gippal didn't hold enough respect for her that he couldn't even say anything about his actions?  
She couldn't complain. Gippal had always been the act-before-you-think, take-before-you-ask kinda guy. But this, this was too much. It was as if he only saw her as a thing to pass around, to hug and cuddle and say he missed just because he didn't have some other bimbo to cling onto his arm.  
She feels violated. More than anything, however, it's just miserable and upset. Rikku doesn't know wether she even has the energy to be angry anymore.

She holds her thought train a little longer. Bimbo… bimbo. Oh right.  
Bimbos.  
Gippal had always, always been a little stinking, pilfering player. From flirting with other girls at the age of fifteen or to teaching Paine Al Bhed whilst enrolled in a suicide mission… How many other girls had he been with and tossed around between status of friend, colleague, and lover?  
Rikku wonders wether she's just another one of his many women.

With a pang, she realises the harshness of her thoughts. Gippal wasn't the type of guy who'd take to bed with him anything that had two legs. Gippal wasn't that shallow, he wasn't a player, and he hadn't had a relationship with Paine, even she'd said so…

_No, this isn't right. He isn't that ruthless. How could I?!_  
She feels guilty for have thought of him in that way.  
Maybe it was just a ready-made excuse for her.. Maybe that was why.

--

Rikku's so confused, she doesn't even know what she's thinking about.

She looks back at Gippal and opens her mouth.  
Her seemingly neat and organized thoughts are a horrible tangled mess now. She feels stupid.

Rikku's cheeks tinge pink. I must look really dumb, standing here with my mouth open.  
Gippal grins, he can't help it. She just looks so cute…

Gippal leans in, closing the distance. He takes her in his arms, slowly, gently, and puts them around her waist. He wants her to know that he isn't angry, just curious, maybe a little disappointed; but never angry. And he just wants an answer.  
Rikku's body still fits with his own, just like all those years ago.  
It's all still the same, when he holds her like that. Just like before.  
Rikku jumps in shock. But she can't pull away. She stares, transfixed, mesmerized on the spot by the look on his face, one that she hasn't seen in years.

"Gippal…" She mumbles his name. His face is nearing hers more and more by the second… only inches away now… "Stop…"

"No."

Suddenly, he doesn't care anymore. He doesn't care that she might be in love with someone else or he might be jeopardizing their friendship. He doesn't care that he might lose her, doesn't care about acting cool and collected. He just needs to know something, something that he can't be sure of until it's felt…

Gippal ignores her and continues to lean in.  
Tightening his grip around her, he closes the distance fully and brushes his lips across hers once, testing the waters. He doesn't think she's serious about her warning and looks into her eyes. Rikku looks scared, he can't tell.

The girl feels all her anger and disappointment ebb away. She doesn't feel gloomy or sad anymore. Everything seems to disappear, and now, it's just them. Just the two of them, alone.

Leaning in again, he presses his lips onto hers, a short, sweet kiss. She doesn't pull away, standing rooted on the spot. Again, she thinks. Again, Gippal.  
Gippal lingers on the spot, his face so close to hers he thinks he could count every eyelash. His hands are still around Rikku's waist.  
She moves, and for a second he wonders wether to let her go. They stand there, staring into each other, until he feels her arms move up. They close around his arms, holding him.  
That's it. That's enough. He doesn't want to hold it anymore. Control snapping, Gippal pulls her up and into his arms, kissing her again.  
Rikku lets him deepen it, and they stand there. Rikku's feet hang off the ground a few centimetres, having being lifted up.

After what seems like hours, they finally pull away, and he sets her back down on the floor.  
Gippal feels as if he's on fire, something shooting through him. It feels as if he's been hit with electricity. Yep, there was definitely still something there. Something was still there, in between them. Something within him, beyond doubt, still wanted Rikku.

He stands there and pulls away now, still maintaining her gaze and never slackening his hold around her waist.  
Rikku's lips remain parted. She still uses her strawberry-mango lip balm, he thinks.

"Tell me you meant that," Gippal says softly. He wants to know, no, he _needs_ to know, that she felt it too. The electric sparky. Thingy.

Startled, Rikku doesn't know how to respond. Should she say yes? Yes, Gippal, I felt it too?

"I don't know…" She says. Biting her lip, Rikku closes her eyes. Spira, they hadn't kissed like that in years, and it was so long ago-

Gippal looks taken aback and dread suddenly fills him. What if… Oh, shit, holy mothe- What the freaking hell in the name of Sp- He feels panicked.

Rikku opens her eyes and sees Gippal still looking down at her.  
"Maybe," Her voice is so soft, Gippal has to strain to hear it.

"Maybe I did," She says, voice growing.

Relief breaks over Gippal like a huge current. A maybe was enough, so much better than a no.

He doesn't know wether to smile or not, but he wants to.  
Raising his hand, Gippal takes a lock of golden her and twirls it around his finger. It's so soft and shiny, he thinks.

"You still haven't answered my question," He starts their conversation again.

"Why did I run?" She says. Her voice is small.

Gippal nods.

"Why did you?" He says. "Everything was going fine, and then, you just had to stand up and say you had to leave, and then you left… why?" His voice shows a tiny trace of bitterness. Still, he hadn't expected anything with Rikku to be easy.

Rikku takes a moment to recollect her thoughts from the mass of scrambled Chocobo eggs once again occupying her head.  
"I ran because…"

Gippal looks at her, listening intently.

"You know Gippal, it's hard understanding you." Rikku looks at him. She continues.  
"I didn't get it that day, still don't. We were fine the way we were, Gippal, as friends. But then, you had to say, That you missed Us. Missed Me. What was that meant to mean, huh?

"It's hard letting things get out of hand like this. I was… your best friend." Her tone is weak. "But suddenly, it felt as if something more might be there, like you wanted something more, like I wanted something more… I'm confused, Gippal, I don't know what I'm feeling or how you feel and I-"

Gippal looks at her.  
"_I_ think I know how_ I_ feel," He says, slightly amused. "Like _this_,"

He leans in again, his arms pulling her towards him once more.

--

It's like he's on a high, kissing her like that. And she always returns the favour as well.  
Something in him still feels wary though. It's like nothing's decided and they're still going ahead with it.  
He doesn't care.

Reaching out, he pulls her in yet again. It's addictive, the scent of her hair or the way she becomes pliable in his arms. His hand fastens securely over hers.

"Leave Saturday free, alright?"

"Why?"

"I'm going to do this properly, for once,"

"O-okay,"  
Rikku wonders just what it is he's trying do to properly.

"No flirting with Goggles," Gippal says firmly, jealousy sparking his eye.

Rikku blinks.  
Oh. So he wanted to take her out.  
Fine then, once couldn't hurt.

"Fine." She says. "On a count that you don't try chat up Annek, either. Deal?"

Gippal grins. It seemed like a fair trade to him.  
"Deal,"

"Sealed with a kiss," Rikku smiles and pulls Gippal back down to her.

* * *

Laughing, the two people hurry inside from the cold and bolt to their room, eager to get in front of a heater.  
Pulling the large jacket off her shoulder, Rikku sets Gippal's jacket on the back of his desk chair. 

"Thank Spira I'm home," Gippal says. "My ass is freezing off,"

Rikku laughs, then stops as her stomach gives an odd little turn.  
"Urgh, I think I ate too much ice cream. My tummy feels weird."

Whining, she shivers from the cold and walks over to Gippal, who is turning the heater on, and sits on the floor, crosses her legs and extends her frozen hands over the heater. Rikku pushes him away from her. Taken by surprise, Gippal falls over.

"Move over, fatty,"

Gippal sits back up straight and scowls.  
"Watch who you're calling fat!"

He grins and pushes her over. Rikku lets out a squeak and collapses onto the floor.  
"Oops," He says, pulling her up. "Maybe I don't know my own strength,"

She rewards him with a glare and a punch. Pretending to wince in pain, Gippal pushes her over.  
"Eep!" Rikku squeals.

Still grinning, Gippal grabs her arms and pulls them behind her back, pushing her face down into the carpet. Rikku lets out a muffled yell.  
"Let me go!"

A devious expression crosses Gippal's face.  
"Please," He says.

Rikku huffs. She wasn't going to give in that easily. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. He was about to learn what it was like dealing with a quick, sharp-thinking professional thief like her.  
Squirming, Rikku flings a leg up and kicks him as a distraction. Gippal grabs her ankle in reflex, caught unawares. Sliding out from under him, Rikku turns and yanks her ankle back, sits up and smacks him, hard, on the wrist.  
Gippal yells and takes his hand back, dropping her foot. Springing up, Rikku cries happily in victory and scurries away from him, around to the other side of the room.

"Not saying please to someone like you," She says, her nose in the air.

Gippal rolls his eye.  
"Come on, you know I just let you go," He nurses his sore wrist.

"Sure you did,"

Getting up off the floor, Gippal turns to look at her. He unbuckles his shoulder pads and flings them onto the floor. He flexes his arms jokingly.

"It's not over yet, Cid's girl,"

"Oh really?" Rikku crosses her arms. And this was the boy who claimed he needed a nap after only a few battles.

"Actually, I change my mind. I'm not going to hurt a little girl like you, I'd feel bad, you're so small," Gippal teases, knowing exactly what the outcome of his remark will be.

Rikku glares for a moment. If she had her way, she'd leap to him and stomp all over him until his sexy long nose was sexy no more, but perhaps it was another of his tricks, a trick to lure her. Her eyes narrow, but she'll take the risk anyway.

She leaps up and tackles him down onto the floor, pinning his arms down by his sides. He yells as she hurls into him, landing hard on his back. Gippal looks at her in complete shock.  
"Ouch, Cid's girl, what the hell," He laughs; Rikku had taken the bait. She could be so predictable sometimes. He could almost see her brain whirring in her head, deciding wether to go back for more, or to simply walk away.

Rikku gives him an innocent smile, looking down at him from her position sitting on top of his abdomen.  
"My bad," She says, "Slipped. Maybe I don't know my own strength either,"

He raises an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, right, slipped,"

"Hehehe…" Rikku giggles, her face glowing. It was nice to be back to normal with Gippal, maybe this friends-with-benefits thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

Propping himself up with his elbows, Gippal looks up at Rikku. She slides off him for a moment. Blinking, she looks at him. Gloved hands reach up and take Rikku's forearms.  
"Your arms are so short," He says brusquely. He still can't let go of the fact that when once, they were the same size, he was now so much broader and built than her. Ah, the benefits of gender.  
Rikku scowls and jerks her arms away from him, kicking him away.

Yelping in mock pain, Gippal flops down onto the floor, his legs kicking up into the air. Rikku falls over onto him shrieking as she loses her balance.  
"Oof,"

Rikku comes face to face with Gippal and a blush rises up her chest. They were too close, much too close. He smirks, feeling Rikku's body on top of his. Shrieking, Rikku scrambles off Gippal and walks to the chair. Her fingers grasp at the back of the piece of furniture, fingernails digging into the leather backing. God, that was far too close for her liking. Everything was happening so fast, and he had just been lying there, under her, his guard let down. Rikku takes a deep breath.

Getting up off the floor, Gippal follows Rikku and stands behind her, his chest touching her back. Rikku jumps at the contact as if a bolt of electricity shoots down her spinal cord. Smirking a little, Gippal puts his hands around her waist before resting his chin on her shoulder.  
Long, gloved fingers slip down Rikku's front and rest at her hips. Rikku quivers, unable to think or move but feel the palms of his hands against her sides, his fingers splayed out over her slim hips.  
Rikku gulps.

Unmoving, Gippal stays perfectly still. He wants her to know despite his action, he wants her to know he isn't some sex-crazed fiend, just a friend... a friend wanting more?  
_ Well, that was weird._  
Pushing his thoughts away, Gippal relaxes and leans forward into her.

Rikku closes her eyes and takes another long, deep breath. Gippal's hands move and Rikku looks down. His thumbs move inwards and slip into the belt-loops on either side of the zip on her attire, hooking into place and fastening her securely in his arms. An elegantly forged silver ring rests on Gippal's left thumb.

"Don't stop," Little words slip out of her mouth.

Gippal smiles, an innocent look on his face that contains something a little more than just cheek and mischief.  
"I won't," He says, still smiling. He's got something to gain, and he knows he's in for first prize.

--

Rikku gives a shriek and attempts to push Gippal away, her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.

"What?" Gippal looks down at her.

"You're poking me," Rikku's eyes are wide, glued down to the spot of contact. He was- _It _was... **poking** her.

Gippal looks down. A hand rests at her waist, another at her thigh, his hips pressing into hers. He was poking her? What was she-oh. Huh.

"Should it be doing more that just _poking you_?" He grins and wiggles his eyebrows.

Rikku turns beet red and splutters.  
"No!" She shoves him away.

"Aw," Gippal replies teasingly. "I was just getting to the fun part…"

Rikku bites her lip, standing there, her fingers playing with a loose thread on the waistband of her skirt.

She looks so, unbelievably, gorgeous, beautiful, perfect, _so damn lickable_. Now, he wants to act on impulse. He wants it, wants her, and wants it now. It's a thrilling feeling, and a rush of adrenaline shoots through his veins. Unfortunately, it doesn't help his steadily growing problem, in more ways than just literally.

Gippal takes a step towards her again. The blonde girl understands his intentions in an instant as Gippal's face flickers with emotion. Rikku clenches her jaw tightly, processing the newly acquired information. Okay, so Gippal was going to.. he was going to-- he _wanted_ to- Oh God. It's okay though, she doesn't feel troubled, because... well.. it wasn't fuelled by raging hormones and sudden bursts of lust. Entirely, anyway. There was something more to it, even only a little bit, and so it was alright.. probably.

Smiling, she slides her arms around his neck again.  
Without further warning, Gippal sweeps her up. Rikku squeals in surprise and beats back at him.  
He picks her up and heads over to the bed, completely forgetting his previously decided upon go-slowly rule.

Little did he know that his actions would bite back at him later.

* * *

**Translation:  
**

"Vydran" - Father

**

* * *

A/N:**  
Hello! This is another update. I know this is a little hazy. There are three parts in this chapter, and there is no explanation as to how Rikku and Gippal got from the second part of the chapter to the third part of the chapter. ie. The parts of the chapter are portrayed by the line break. That will be cleared up next chapter, so make sure you come back.Oops, and Gippal getting in trouble with Paine has been pushed further into the future xD 

Sorry, I dunno about writing fluff... so I left most of it out. Uhm, just use your imagination? x.x

**What's happening so far:**  
-They come to the conclusion they'd both like each other to be something more than just friends  
-However, they do not 'like each other' yet. All they've gotten to is the stage where they both know it'll be okay to fall for another. It just 'hasn't happened yet'.

Read and review! RC


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the slow update, school work's been keeping me busy, and I haven't been able to write anything but drabbles for a bit. Even now this chapter isn't very good but ... I'll clear up in the next one. x.x Thanks for all the updates! It makes me feel happy :D  
**Warning:** Themes, language.

* * *

**The Way They'd Planned  
Record Cover**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Yuna smiles, closing her eyes, and leans her head back into the sun. Heat beats down upon her eyelids; a fresh breeze ruffles through her hair. The voices of Paine, Lulu and Baralai echo softly in the air around her, the three gathered in small talk. 

Two loud squeals indicate company. Opening her eyes, Yuna tilts her head back up straight and looks up ahead squinting in the sunlight; Rikku and Vidina are running towards the array of picnic rugs and chairs, dripping head to toe in sea water and spraying sand everywhere. Yuna smiles and waves. Vidina holds up a pudgy hand, enclosed in it a large white shell with swirly patterns on it.

"Look wha' Auntie Rikku go' me!" The toddler with bright, flaming orange hair grins in triumph. Yuna laughs.

"Great work, Vidina!" Yuna laughs at the boy clinging onto Rikku's leg.

Vidina nods furiously.

Panting, Rikku and Vidina tumble down into the picnic rug carefully laid out by Yuna some two hours previously and start laughing.

"Having fun?" Paine's flat voice rings out casually. Rikku giggles and nods, lying on the rug with Vidina huddled up to her side.

"Uh-huh. You should watch them all play Blitz," Rikku says cheerfully.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"I dunno, amuse yourself," Rikku's spirits are over the moon.

Rikku gives Vidina a small shove towards his mother. He stumbles into his mothers arms and wraps his arms around her neck.

"Hi, Momma,"

Rikku smiles and grabs a discarded shirt nearby and pulls it over her head, unsure of whose it is. Probably Tidus', judging by the yellow and blue coloured cloth.

Rolling over onto her back, Rikku lies next to Yuna and strikes up a conversation.

Paine watches for a while, her two friends conversing whilst she chooses to say nothing for the meantime.

--

Gippal yelps in delight as a carefully aimed Blitzball makes contact with the side of Brother's head and knocks him off his guard. Brother howls and flails around in the water.

"GIPPAL!" He screams in his thick Al Bhed accent. "YOU BASTARD,"

Gippal and Tidus grin, roaring with laughter, hi-five each other and dart off to launch another attack on Brother.

Brother howls again in fury. Those two Chocobo egg-heads, ooh, this was too much. First Gippal had gotten a hold of Rikku when he was sixteen, and then Tidus had gone and stolen his poor Yuna at seventeen… these two idiots had all the women in his life… Oh yes, Brother was so very protective of his little sister and cousin…  
They were going to pay.

Letting out a terrible war cry, Brother darts forward and dives under the water in hot pursuit of the two.

Shinra and Buddy roll their eyes.

--

Yuna leans forwards and whispers something into Rikku's ear. She sits up blushing and turns away, mumbling something to her older cousin.

Yuna laughs, and the word _D'jose_ can be heard issuing from her lips. Paine's eyebrow twitches. D'jose? Well, D'jose could only mean one thing, the Faction, which meant, Gippal?

Paine clears her throat loudly. Yuna and Rikku stop talking in their hurried voices, and look towards Paine questioningly. The corner of the warrior's mouth twitches up in a small smirk.

"I'm sorry, Rikku, but did I hear, _D'jose_?"

Rikku blinks.

"Yeah," Yuna says, "We were talking about Gippal. Why?"

Paine snorts.

"Why were you talking about Gippal?"

Immediately, Rikku blushes a deep crimson again and looks away towards the shoreline. For a second, she watches the figures of Tidus and Gippal swimming around and yelling in the water.

"Well, they're-"

"_Dating?_" Paine says dryly, shocked. Apparently she was the last one to find out.

Her voice cuts sharp, and Yuna stops laughing to gaze at her friend, aware of how tense Paine's voice seems.

Rikku looks away again.

"N-no,"

Paine's eyebrow arches. Rikku catches sight of the expression on Paine's face and squeaks.

"Okay, okay, we are… happy?" Rikku looks over at the water, eyes in search for Gippal. She spots him pegging another ball at Brother and fiddles with a wet braid.

"No," Paine says softly. "Why didn't you tell us? You do know this is _Gippal_, you're dating?"

"I did! I told Yunie and Lulu, and yeah, I do, why?"

"Most people know already," Yuna adds, "It's been a while now. He approached her quite a few weeks ago."

"I don't know," Paine replies, voice still soft. She doesn't care that she's the last to find out; she cares for Rikku. Her eyes mixed with emotion stare out over the water, unreadable. "You know he won't be as good with himself or with you as Tidus is with Yuna,"

She catches Baralai's eye. The Praetor tilts his head down and stares down his nose at his friend in warning, knowing exactly where the conversation is going. Paine shrugs.

Rikku's cheek twitches, and her eyes narrow.

"I thought you were _best friends_ with Gippal, you two are _tight_, so why are you talking about him that way?"

Paine shrugs as Yuna stares, taken aback at the change of conversational tone. Paine can't help but notice how Baralai still seems to be peering at her, listening. She remains indifferent. Baralai knew just as much as she knew, what did it matter if she chose to relay some information onto Rikku?

"Gippal's not as good with women as you'd think,"

Rikku blinks again.

"S-so what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, Rikku, is that you should be careful around Gippal. Don't misunderstand him or take things too seriously, too early. You can't tell what he's feeling with him. I doubt he even knows how to interpret his _own_ feelings. And if he does something stupid… well you'll forgive him, won't you,"

"And I suppose you know him better than I do," Rikku snaps, her temper rising. Honestly, why did Paine always have to try and correct her? She wasn't seventeen anymore, and this was getting rather annoying. Did Paine really think that she knew Gippal better than Rikku did? How could a mere few years of friendship _ever_ compare to almost-but-not-quite two decades worth of conversation?

"You've been dating for a while, yes? And tell me, Rikku, has he been the same as before? Before you starting courting?"

"What would you know," Rikku retorts.

"Paine," A stern voice calls out. Paine's head whips around to face Baralai.

"What?" She asks curtly.

Baralai shakes his head in warning. _Don't tell her any more_.

Paine stays silent, gathering a line of sentence.

"Rikku, I just think you should remember… if he ever does anything rash, find it in you to forgive him. You know it'll always have been for the best, even if it's been for some stupid, selfish reason,"

Huffing, Rikku turns her back on everyone and stares out at the ocean, a bright glittering blue. Paine was being so, totally, unreasonable, illogical. What a way to wreck her day, by saying something like that. It stung Rikku's feelings.

Yuna looks at Paine. Paine ignores her.

There's silence for a while, and no-one talks. Rikku mulls over her thoughts, wondering why the sudden outburst. The only voices that are heard are that of Vidina, and in the distance, the Blitzball game.

Lulu is the one to cut the silence. She takes a hold of her son's wrist and jiggles it up and down.

"Look, Vidina," She distracts the toddler from his toy moogle and motions towards the shoreline. Vidina looks up, squeals in delight, flings the plush away and gets up off his mothers lap. He runs, hobbling along the sand as fast as his legs take him, and makes his way towards the group of men laughing, walking back to the picnic rugs.

Tidus is the first to catch sight of Vidina. He yells out in delight and sprints towards the boy, scoops him up in his arms and flings him around in the air before he runs towards Yuna. Vidina cackles with laughter as Tidus feigns tripping over and collapses onto the sand with the boy on his chest.

The silence shared between the five already residing at the rugs breaks, and light chuckles can be heard. Paine even has the sense to smile.

Chaos reignites.

--

Rikku blinks and looks up as Gippal arrives in front of her having dodged Brother narrowly. He collapses into her lap rolling his eyes.

"Brother's such a dork," He says. "I swear, even way back at Home he- Hoo, boy,"

He shifts over onto his side so he can look out at the water.

"Having fun?" She asks smiling. Her fingers play with his hair, dripping with water. Gippal nods.

"Haven't Blitzed for a while," He says.

"Didn't know you could Blitz," Rikku replies.

"Learnt… at Luca,"

"I see," Rikku says, her lips curved up in an amusedly.

Gippal rolls over onto his back again and stares up at Rikku. He notices the yellow shirt hanging off her shoulder, bikini strap peeking. He sits up and prods her in the shoulder.

"Who's shirt is that?" He asks, his eye narrowing.

Rikku looks down at him. "Tidus'. Why?"

Gippal shrugs and makes a faint grumbling noise at the back of his throat. He turns away.

"Nothing,"

Rikku giggles and scrambles over toward Gippal. She slips her arms around his neck from behind and leans forward, pressing herself into his back. He leans forwards in response to her weight and scowls.

"Get out,"

Rikku's smile widens.

"No," She wheedles at him and leans forward, wriggling her hips side to side, pushing forwards into him as if trying to get him to give her a piggyback. Gippal shivers involuntarily, bare skin rubbing together. Oh, it was _so_ annoying when she did that; and she knew exactly what it did. Gippal scowls again and tries to ignore her pestering.

Rikku pouts.

"You're no fun,"

"Neither are you,"

She shrugs, and then dips her head down to his ear. Rikku can see the silver sleeper set in his cuff, the stud in his lobe. She nuzzles him, fingers tickling down at his collarbones. Gippal smirks and shivers again as he feels Rikku's lips kiss down gently onto his skin and trails her tongue over his lobe and up the shell of his ear.

"Stop it,"

Rikku stops.

"Why?" She whines again, pushing her bottom lip out so he can feel her pout.

"Can't think."

"You aren't meant to,"

"People watching."

Rikku rolls her eyes, drops her arms and sits down back onto the sand and smiles. She catches Tidus' eye. He winks. Rikku blushes- but turns away smiling nevertheless.

* * *

Pushing the flap of her hut aside, Yuna walks in wearing Tidus' overlarge yellow shirt. She sets the basket she is holding down on a small table, yawns and stretches upwards as she feels Tidus wrap his arms around her waist from behind. 

She turns to face him and returns the hug.

"I had fun today," She says simply. Tidus nods.

"It was good seeing everyone again," He says. "Especially Rikku,"

"Yeah, it was nice seeing her, and Gippal as well," Yuna agrees, "Did you know that she and Gippal were dating?"

Tidus shrugs.

"No, but it was kinda expected," He says, "Hasn't she liked him for ages or something? I heard he was the one to give her that scarf, yeah?"

The brunette nods.  
"A while now, I'm pretty sure a couple of weeks at the least,"

"Uh-huh,"

"I hope she's happy,"

Tidus frowns. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"I don't know, Paine had a bit of a go at her today,"

"What? What did she say?"

"Something like, Rikku had to be careful around Gippal,"

"Oh. I wonder why."

"Yeah,"

There's silence as Tidus puts his chin on Yuna's shoulder.

"She'll be fine," Tidus says seriously. "I trust her,"

Yuna nods again, still silent. There's a small look of worry on her face. Evidently she was thinking about her cousin.

"C'mon, Yuna, lighten up, what could go wrong?"

Seeing as Yuna did not smile back at him, Tidus cracked a face, pulling at his features.

Yuna snorts in laughter and pushes him away before darting further into the tent.

"You should've seen Wakka's face," Tidus says seriously. "He looked like as if he'd been hit over the head with one of Lulu's pans,"

* * *

Paine and Baralai walk together down the Highbridge, back in Bevelle. It's late at night. 

Neither have talked since arriving back on mainland Spira.

They reach the end of the Highbridge and prepare to part ways; Baralai to the temple and Paine left to an apartment she now called Home.

Just as Paine waves goodbye and turns to head down the street, Baralai takes a step and catches her wrist.  
Paine turns to take her hand back, but finds herself looked down upon by Baralai.Paine tries to make her gulp of surprise inconspicuous. They were close, so close, their bodies were almost touching, so close that she could see the weave of the blue fabric tied around his forehead… He was going to get hurt.

"'Lai," She starts. Baralai cuts her off.

"Just one question," He says quietly. "What was that with Rikku earlier?"

Paine raises an eyebrow. Oh. So he didn't mean it _that_ way. What a way to ruin the atmosphere.

"What? About being careful around Gippal?"

Baralai nods.

"Well, you can hardly blame me," Paine says. Her voice is flat and inexpressive. "Gippal has the tendency to become a little reckless."

"But Paine,"

"I'm not sure she knows what she's getting into by having an affair with him."

"Don't you think-"

"That I'm being a little harsh?"

The Praetor nods.

Paine crosses her arms.

"I don't want her to get hurt."

"No one does, Paine, and Gippal, he-"

"He what, Baralai?"

"Well, he's-"

"Our friend? I know. But he hasn't exactly been a genius in the women's department. You know that." Paine's crimson red eyes bore into Baralai's own chocolate brown ones.

"But that was years ago, he was _sixteen_, Paine,"

"I know what you're going to say; You're going to say I'm being selfish. I don't care. I don't want Rikku to get hurt.

"Try remembering back to just before selection, Baralai, when we were all a bunch of kids messing around. Try that, and tell me what you see. Goodnight, Baralai,"

Paine turns, her hand slipping out of Baralai's as his grip slackens. She walks straight-backed and solemn, away from Baralai until she is a mere dot in the darkness.

Sure enough, Baralai starts to feel a small, sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach. _Selection_. Gippal.  
But it was in the past, Baralai didn't see why it should be a problem now…  
Shaking his head, he makes his way to the temple and pushes the doors open.

* * *

"Uhh. What? _No_, 'Lai, I'm not helping. It's _either kiss and make up _or… Break.Up?" Gippal grits through his teeth, rubbing his temples with finger and thumb before running his hand back through his hair distractedly. Gippal looks into the CommSphere. Baralai's worried face is projected out in blue. 

"I am NOT kissing Nooj, if that's what you're saying,"

"Spira, 'Lai, I wasn't telling you to kiss him," Gippal rolls his eye. The last few weeks had been stressful for him; he wasn't about to pray to _anyone's_ Yevonite ass for more trouble. At any rate, the quarrels between New Yevon and the Youth League were the very least of his steadily growing list of problems. Aw, geez, he was already tired, he didn't need more work to do.

"Well, alright, fine, Gippal, but you might-"

"Yeah, yeah, alright, I got it,-"  
A bang and a scream sounds from outside. Gippal's eye widens in surprise.

"Look, 'Lai, I gotta go, somethins' goin' on from outside." He clicks the end transmission button leaving a startled Baralai behind, gets up and leaves his office.

It had been a while now since he and Rikku had started dating, and he looked forward to seeing her this morning, so maybe things wouldn't be as gloomy as they were lately. He hopes to himself the scream hadn't issued from Rikku's mouth, although judging by the shrill, high-pitched shriek it was probably her. She was the last person he'd ever want hurt or caught up in an accident… Rikku.

Brother had probably just blown another hole in his temple. Again.

--

Rikku looks up as padded footsteps hear from the front of the workroom. She looks up and sees a slightly disgruntled looking Gippal. Jumping up, she hops over to him. A worried look rests on his face. Rikku slips her hand in his gently.

"Hi, Good morning, hello, cheerios," She says brightly. She knocks her head on his chin happily before spinning in a circle dancing around him, swinging her hips to the side and bumping into his side. "Wheat-puffs!" She giggles and takes his hand in her own, tugging on the glove strap.

He smiles at her and bends down, kissing her cheek and tugs on her fingers.

"What's-"  
There's no need to finish the question.

Rikku points at something on the floor a distance away silently.

Gippal moans, and letting go of her hand, he walks over to Brother, squirming slightly on the floor in pain.  
He moans again as he sees a large, shallow crater in the stone surrounded by several charred bits of wire and metal. It's smoking.

"What the hell did he do? That's the freaking _third_ time he's blown up my freaking _temple_," He grunts, stressed, and bends down to look into Brother's face twisted in pain. "That's even more than _you_," He adds to Rikku.

Rikku scowls."You're being angry again. No good. High blood pressure." She nods. "Like Pops."

"Like _yo_u wouldn't get all worked up if someone blew a hole in the middle of your temple," He turns back to Brother.

Brother makes a strange noise from the back of his throat, apparently attempting to talk.

"I- tried- Hover engine," Brother groans and flops back onto the floor helplessly.

"Brother, you moron," Gippal says. "I don't even wanna _ask_ what you tried to do. It costs more than ten thousand Gil to repair the floors _every_ time you do that,"

Rikku and Buddy snicker, and workers start to turn back away to their stations.

"It's 'coz he tried to 'prove himself' in front of Pops," Rikku says brightly. She waves a hand to the other end of the workroom and points to none other than Cid. Gippal's head turns. Cid nods curtly at him.

"Wait up here," Gippal says hastily. "I'll go say hi,"

--

"So, boy, what's this about the Faction going broke and you courting my daughter?"

Gippal stares at Cid. How-?

"_What?!_"

--

"But I'm not." Gippal says, finality in his tone.

And why the hell was Cid so concerned about the Faction, anyway?

A noise in the background throws Gippal off his track. Looking around, he spots Buddy and Rikku hovering above Brother, deciding what to do with him.

A worker joins them, whom Gippal knows by sight as Trelan.

Gippal watches in silence as Trelan greets Buddy and Rikku. It isn't long before he and Rikku start talking having being introduced cordially by Buddy.  
Rikku erupts in a fit of giggles soon, and he can't help but notice how hard she's blushing. Well, she never did that around him, Gippal. Huh.  
Gippal continues to gaze at Rikku as she, Trelan and Buddy bend down to clean up the mess. Fumbling with pieces of metal, Trelan wipes his forehead with the back of his hand before pushing his goggles back further backwards on his head.

He looks at Rikku. She's smiling, and when she gets up, her long hair rustles around, beads clinking. Gippal finds himself smiling as he hazily remembers the blur of speed and passion in which they had entangled themselves in; the feeling of her lips on his, soft, pliable and warm, the feel of her hands inching their way under his shirt and up his abdomen, the way their lips parted only for a second as she pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side…Crap.

Still staring at Rikku, he now feels rather uncomfortable that she is talking to this new boy, all blushing and _giggling-like_.  
An angry yell distracts Gippal from his thoughts and he finds himself snapped back to reality. He stares down at the bald man standing in front of him and grins sheepishly, apologetic. Gippal rubs the back of his neck again with his hand, the other resting on his hip.

"Sorry, old man, where were we?"

--

"What the _fuck_, Cid,"

"Don't you use that attitude with me, boy, shut it,"

"What kind of a _shit-ass _deal is that?"

"Now see here, Gippal, if you just-"

"…No way in _fucking hell_, _damnit_, Cid,"

Rikku casts a glance over the room. Hearing Gippal yell out like that was never a good sign. All the same, she continues picking up bits of debris and ignores it. Probably another tussle between the two.

"Why in the blazes not? Since when, boy, were you so-"

"Interested in your daughter? Yeah, how about, since I was _seven_-"

"Tchah, if ma little girl ever meant a piece o' stinkin' Gil to you then you wouldn'ta left for Yevon-damned Crimson Squad in the first place, you hear?" Cid lowers his voice to an angry growl so Rikku can't hear, even if the whirring churn of the machinery covers up their talk anyway. "Boy, if you-"

"Don't you like me, old man? I swear you do," Gippal says promptly, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his chin upwards.

"Well I'll be if I do,"

"That's right, _Pops_, so what's the big deal?"

"I'll tell you what the big deal is. I might like you, _Son_, but that don't mean _jack_ about what I think about you and Rikku,"

Gippal snorts.

"I like her. She likes me. What makes you think she'll let go so easily?"

"I don't know, got no clue in all of blazin' hell, but if she likes ya that much then she'll be bound to come back again someday, right, boy?"

Gippal pauses. Well, that was a rather good point there, wasn't it? Wait. No.

"No deal." Gippal says firmly, hands set on his hips, the apples of his cheeks colouring in the slightest way.

Cid's eyes narrow.

"Fine. Have it yer way. Jus' don' come ta me sayin' yer sorry,"

"I won't." Gippal turns on the ball of his foot and leaves Cid standing, face a furious blotchy red. "But I'll make sure to drop you a note if I ever change my mind though," Gippal adds sarcastically as he walks away, a hand raised in the air. Cid look as if he's about to burst.

Gippal walks over to the spot where Brother lies, still moaning in pain. Rikku is bending over him, giggling and poking him in the side having finished cleaning.

"Make sure he fixes all that before he leaves today," He points at the mess lying few feet away from Brother. Rikku nods as he bends down and kisses her on the cheek again before turning to leave.  
Rikku can't help but notice how his one good eye is suddenly clouded over.

--

As Gippal walks away from the workroom and back to his office, his eyebrows furrow.

Just how did Cid know about the Faction? Only Gippal himself, Nhadala, and Rin knew, and- Rin. Eh.

Gippal's eyebrows furrow together harder. Not to mention Cid's _proposal_ had just made things a whole lot worse, and just when he had thought his day was finally lightening up.

Stupid old man.

_Cid… Rikku… Cid… Rikku_-

And what was this _crap_ Cid was suddenly sprouting? _Talk about out of the blue. _So there was Cid's deal. Cid's stupid deal.

Gippal had rejected it straightaway, but then, it was Rikku… but then, unlike the Faction, she'd come back again, right? It wasn't like she would leave him forever if he- whereas once the Faction was gone, it'd never be right again- So what was he to do?

No. No, she was worth more than the Faction. That was definite. He wasn't going to give her up like that so easily, especially because things were going so well between them now. But was he really willing to give up the Faction so easily?

Shutting himself in his office, Gippal leans back into his chair and rubs his face with his hands. So now it was a choice between the Faction or- Well, he didn't want to think about it.

He decides, that he'll sit still and sort things out slowly, and decide what he'll do with Rikku and with his life, with the Faction. By himself. For now, he'd act totally normal.

---

Rikku yawns and bounces up and down on the bed a few times. She had spent the last hour and a half of her night in with Gippal, the two sitting by the open window and staring out into the night sky, speckled with glittering stars. Both had been lost in their own thought until Rikku had failed an attempt at stifling a yawn and Gippal had decided it was time for both to slide under the covers and fall victim to sleep. At first, Rikku had insisted him take her back to her room, but he had refused to leave his bedroom or let her leave herself, and kept her by his side. He was lying sprawled out on the bed behind her, she knew.

Rikku digs her toe into the soft cream-coloured carpet on the floor. She slides it back and forth, tracing patterns in the fibres and watches the resilience of the weave spring back up after the pressure releases.

Rikku sighs and pushes herself backwards onto the bed and slides under the covers. Gippal's arm wraps itself around her shoulder before he pulls himself next to her. Rikku wriggles around making herself comfortable and puts her head on his shoulder, right next to his collarbones. Closing her eyes, she snuggles up next to him, breathing in his scent and falling into his warmth.

--

Gippal lies silently awake, staring up at the ceiling. His mind had been distant and preoccupied all day because of its events.

"_So, boy, what's this about the Faction going broke and you courting my daughter?"_

"What?!_"_

"_It ain't news boy, it's been goin' round the whole of Bikanel for weeks now,"_

"_What do you want, Cid,"_

"_I'll tell you what I want. Why don't we strike up a deal, I'll sort out all yer money, and you can break it off with my daughter,"_

"_What the fuck, Cid,"_

"_Don't you use that attitude with me, boy, shut it,"_

"_What kind of a _shit-ass_ deal is that?"_

"_Now see here, Gippal, if you just-"_

"…_No way in_ fucking hell, damnit_ Cid,"_

"_I like her. She likes me. What makes you think she'll let go so easily?"_

"_I don't know, got no clue in all of blazin' hell, but if she likes ya that much then she'll be bound to come back again someday, right, boy?"_

Gippal held back a yell of frustration.

It would be quite easy, really, to just tell Cid to shove off and leave him, Rikku, and the Faction alone… but at the same tme, it wasn't.

From what Cid had said earlier that day, he was perfectly willing to keep the Faction in good health… in order for Gippal to give Rikku up.  
The answer was obvious. He'd never, ever give Rikku up for anything.

On the other hand, this was the Faction… the _Machine Faction_. It was _his_. It'd been three years since he'd started the Faction, almost four now, he couldn't give it up so easily, not when it was such a part of his life…  
But Rikku was part of his life too, wasn't she?

"_-but if she likes ya that much then she'll be bound to come back again someday, right, boy?"_

Gippal frowns. Maybe there'd be a way out of all of this. Maybe he'd tell Rikku, yes, he'd tell Rikku and- wait, no, Rikku would never let him get away with it. So how about… no, that wasn't right either… Maybe, he'd make it _look_ like he had broken up with Rikku to get Cid to pay for all the bills, and _then_. But no, that wouldn't solve his problems, because he'd have to hide Rikku away…

"_She'll be bound to come back again someday, right, boy?"_

Maybe, possibly, he could just tell her that he needed a break, get the money and get back together with her again…

With a sinking feeling, Gippal feels guilt swamp his senses. _Get the money and get back together with her again._ Sands, that sounded so horrible. He'd never be able to do it.

Cid's voice rings through his head again. It was turning into a mantra. Was Cid right, or was he just giving him false likelihood in hope that Gippal would really give up on the girl? Would Rikku really be willing to come back after the second time he broke it off with her? Gippal isn't so sure, he'd never know, it'd been so strange when they'd started to date those few months ago already, even if were all better now, and he wasn't sure a third time would ever work… Was it worth the risk?

Gippal gulps, and instinctively draws Rikku closer. He shifts their positions until his front is pressed up against her back, slinging an arm over her waist. He closes his eye, determined to forget Cid's words.

--

Rikku blinks at the change of position. Her hand rests on top of Gippal's larger one on her waist as she wonders why the sudden shift.  
Rikku makes a face. She can feel the tenseness in Gippal's body against hers, heat radiating off in waves and tingling down her spine.

Something is wrong, but she doesn't know what.

* * *

**A/N:**  
So yeah, umm fourth chapter. It's a poorly written chapter which means I shouldn't be posting this, but well...  
Chapter 5 is exciting me more though, so if I regain lots of excitedness for this fic again I promise I'll make this chapter better.  
It might be a bit hard to understand at the moment, but it'll clear up in the next chapter. Again.  
Ooh, and yay, I have a pointless fluffy drabble called Merefire uploaded. Go read it :3 My first brave attempt at writing proper... _detailed_ fluff. -waves flag- 

**What's happening so far:**  
-Rikku and Gippal are dating, but there is a new development... in the form of Cid.  
-Paine says something strange to Rikku that she shares with Baralai, and Rikku becomes slightly offended.

Read and review! RC


	5. Chapter 5

**The Way They'd Planned  
Record Cover**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Rikku groans in frustration and throws her spanner down onto the floor, kicking the broken-down hover in anger. The whirring hum of machinery is loud in the workroom, so naturally her tantrum is unheard by many. Still, soon enough, a warm friendly hand was clasped over her shoulder. Surprised, Rikku looks up and comes face to face with Trelan. His goggles are pushed back on his forehead, holding his hair back. Light trestles of blond hair fall around his forehead, glistening with sweat. His eyes are the truest green she has ever seen, and for a moment, her heart leaps in joy at the sight of him, just looking down at her, a concerned look on his face. 

"What is it?" Rikku snaps out of her daydream.

"Oh. This hover engine's refusing to work…" She says. "The wires keep on charring, and I don't know why!" Rikku whines, angry at the hover. She wasn't normally that impatient, but gradually building frustration was getting to her, and if she didn't find a healthy output for her stress, then… she didn't want to think about it.

Trelan smiles.

"Need help?"

Rikku sighs, and looks up at him again. She nods.

"Yes, please?"

---

Rikku giggles and tosses Trelan a rag. Catching it, he grins back and wipes his forehead.

"Don't know why a genius at machina like you can't fix a faulty current,"

Rikku shrugs before replying, "I'm tired. I guess my mind just isn't working properly at the moment."

Trelan nods. "Maybe. Or maybe you aren't as good as you seem to be," He smirks and winks teasingly.

"I am too!" Rikku pouts. "I can kick your little ass _any_ day!" She wiggles around and skips in a circle.

Trelan grins at her cuteness and smirks back in response.

"Wanna bet?"

"Ya huh!" Rikku replies happily.

"Okay…" Trelan thinks. "First one to…- Last one the fix their broken hover cleans up after lunch."

Rikku made a face. Fine, she could do this. She'd win in an instant. And if she lost… cleaning up wouldn't be too bad.

"-After the Gullwings," Trelan adds.

"Clean up after Brother?!" Rikku squawks.

"Uh huh."

"But-"

"For a week,"

Rikku squawked indignantly again. "_A week?!_"

Trelan smirked again. "If you aren't up to it…"

"I'm up, I'm up! I'll do it," Rikku cuts across hastily as Trelan laughs at her. Ooh, she was going to kick his butt all the way to Zanarkand and back! Just wait and see.

"Deal?"

"Deal,"

Trelan grins and picks up her spanner, giving it back to her. "You'll need this."

* * *

A solitary figure walks over the D'jose bridge and towards the temple. It is a man dressed in earthy green tones, dark complexion smooth, shining silvery hair glinting in the sunlight. He turns right and enters the small office in front of the Machine Faction's main doors. 

"Is Gippal in today?" Baralai speaks up, voice calm, smooth and soft.

The woman behind the counter nods.

"He is, sir,"

"Thank you," Baralai stops himself from bowing, remembering that he is surrounded by the Al Bhed.

Baralai turns and heads outside, heading towards the door. He had business of a professional nature to discuss with Gippal today.

---

"Gippal."

Gippal looks up and sees Baralai.

"'Lai?" He asks. "What're you doing here-"

"I have some things to discuss," Baralai replies.

Gippal blinks a few times and replies to him. "Okay, yeah?"

"It is about New Yevon and the Youth League."

Gippal rolls his eyes immediately. The two were probably bickering over their political status in Spira. Gippal sighs heavily. "Okay, lemme guess, you and Nooj had another fight."

The praetor shakes his head in response. "That isn't it,"

"Huh? Then what is it?"

Baralai pauses, as if to wonder wether to go on or not.

"We have chosen to separate the two groups,"

"What?! As if," Gippal scoffs.

Baralai shakes his head. "It is true."

"And what kind of reason might it be for the 'separation'?" Gippal imitates Baralai's serious, formal manner.

"We are two political groups. Two political groups do not meant unity, and this is what Spira is looking for, is it not?"

Separating the Yevonites from their religion was like trying to separate mercury from gold. You didn't do it, and you didn't try, either. There was no use. Nothing would happen, and if you did manage to prise the two apart, there would be some kind of toll to pay. Mercury poisoning, for instance. Not pretty.

Gippal groaned and rubbed his face before collapsing backwards into his chair.  
"Are you serious…" His voice is muffled from beneath his hands. His hand ran backwards through his hair and rumpled it.

Baralai looks directly at Gippal, unmoving. Gippal takes it as a positive. He snorts.

"Well, dunno why you're tellin' me, but good luck, 'Lai."

When Baralai does not respond, Gippal replies again. "Trust me, you'll need it."

* * *

"Hey!" Rikku shouts. "No fair! I saw that!" She turns from her hover and puts her hands firmly on her hips. Trelan was receiving help from Shinra. 

"Stop! Stop it!" She shrieked. "That's not fair! I'm not getting help from anyone! What makes you think you can!"

Trelan and Shinra spin around slowly on the spot and look at Rikku. Trelan's face turns into a grin.

"Yeah, but we never decided on any rules," He says slowly, calculative.

Rikku's eyes widen. "But- but, but that's cheating by default! You can't just ask Shinra to help you,-"

"No one said I couldn't," He smirks back.

Rikku feels her cheeks grow hot. "But…" Her lip trembles. "But-"

Trelan grins. "C'mon, Shinra, gotta beat Rikku,"

They turn back to the hover.

"Okay, you stop right now," Rikku says. "If you don't think _that's_ cheating, we'll take you to Gippal, and then we'll see what you think of cheating _after_," She marches to Trelan, grabs him by the upper and arm and drags him away from the hover. Trelan gives a yell in response and tries to squirm away from her grip. Rikku tugs along harder.

Trelan yells again as he feels her hand squeeze at his arm.

He grunts and tries to prise himself away from her again before managing to say out loud, "For such a little kid, your grip's as strong as Sin's damn _father_,"

Rikku snorts.

"You haven't seen _anything_ yet,"

She continued to pull him up the corridor, through the lobby, up the stairs and to Gippal's office.

Getting nearer, Rikku stopped short to a halt. Trelan crashed into her.  
"Ow, what the hell,-"

"Shhh!" Rikku says, clasping her hand around Trelan's mouth. "Someone's in there!"

Trelan stops and pulls Rikku around the corner of the office door. They listen together quietly.

"_-He said that?!" Someone says.  
_

"_Yeah." A new voice replies.  
_

"_Cid? Cid, as in, leader of the Al Bhed?" The first replies.  
_

"_You heard me."_

"_But why-"_

"_I don't know, the thing is, am I gonna go along with it?" The second man's voice sounds frustrated.  
_

"_What's that supposed to mean, Gippal? Didn't you say no straightaway?"_

"_Like hell I did, 'Lai, but y'know, I been thinking', maybe,-"_

Rikku looks up at Trelan fearfully. It was Baralai in there whom Gippal was talking to, she'd recognise that voice from anywhere. She reaches up and pulls Trelan down close to her lips, and whispers into his ear.

"They're talking about Pops," She says, her voice hushed. Trelan looks down at the girl, worried and ashen-faced. Trelan nods silently.

"Uh.. Trelan, I think, we should go."

"What? No!" Trelan hisses back. "I wanna hear this,"

Rikku shakes her head. "We aren't meant to be listening, _you_ aren't meant to be listening, we should go, I'll do the dishes for _two weeks_, c'mon, please, let's just go,"

"I've got a weird feeling about this," Trelan replies.

"What's that s'posed to mean, huh?"

"It means that I'm paranoid about your boyfriend, and I-"

"You have no right to be paranoid over him! It's _none_ of your business and I-" Rikku stops as Trelan's hand clasps over her mouth. The voices from within Gippal's office have stopped. They had not been aware as to exactly how loud they had been talking.

They stand together, pressed against one another. If Gippal or Baralai were to walk out, they were to be in a rather compromising position. Trelan preferred not to risk it.

Footsteps hear, and the voices resume. Rikku's ears prickle as she strains herself to hear.

"_Yeah, well, where was I?" Gippal says.  
_

"_You were thinking?" Baralai reples.  
_

"_Right… right…" Gippal's voice sounds strained, to her, Rikku thinks._ "_Maybe I'm gonna go along with Cid's plan,"_

Rikku's eyes widen. She stares into Trelan's face, who seems calm, compared to hers, wide and fearful. His hand is still clasped over her mouth in an effort to quiet her reaction. Rikku doesn't care. She turns her head and presses her ear to the wall. What was Cid's plan? Guilt rushes through her. Oh no, no, no no, bad Rikku, she wasn't meant to be listening…

Trelan stays close, also listening intently. _How interesting._

"_You can't, Gippal,"_

"_Why not?" Gippal replies from inside. His voice is cocky and impatient._

"_It involves Rikku," Baralai says calmly._

Rikku gasps. Trelan's hand closes over her mouth tighter.

"Shh, Rikku, we can't be heard," Rikku nods in response, and they continue to listen.

"_You love her. And she loves you." Baralai's voice echoes from inside again._

There is silence. Rikku finds herself unable to hear of anything but her heartbeat, thumping hard and fast in her ribcage. Panic rises in her throat, and she feels dizzy, as if to vomit. Suddenly, she is aware of how Trelan's thumb is stroking at her cheek in an effort to calm her down. Rikku reaches up and grabs Trelan's hand. She holds it tightly, and he squeezes back in response.

The silence stretches out enormously. Then-

"_I don't," Gippal's voice is hollow and ominous._

Rikku wouldn't have noticed even if her breathing had stopped, her heart was pounding so hard, there was nothing but the torrential sound beating in her eardrums.

"_I don't," Gippal's voice repeats. "I don't- I don't love her." It's cracked and uneven._

The back of Rikku's eyes prickle. She had never expected him to have fallen in love with her completely, so easily, but she had never expected him to deny it so quickly, either. It hurt, right there, in her chest. _Owwie…_ Rikku bites her lip as Trelan's hand leaves her mouth.

"_But, Gippal-"_

"_Cid said… Cid said it was gonna be alright. He said… that if she loved me, then she'd come back. You know her, she's always gonna, no matter what."_

"_What if she doesn't, Gippal? You can't do this. It isn't fair,"_

"_What's meant to be fair? Love, war, life? None of it, ever is, Lai,"_

Rikku chokes and lets out a whimper. Gippal had never, _ever_, used that tone with anyone before, nor had he ever had that attitude. That sort of stupid, selfish, egotistical outlook on life only came with people like… people like… like _Nooj_, and even then, he didn't go that far.

"_So what are you going to do?" Baralai asks.  
_

"_I'm… I'm going to break up with her. Cid'll give me the funding I need, and then…"_

"_Then what, Gippal?"_

"_I dunno. Or I could like, dump her, and forget to tell her, or something. Then later it'll be as if it never happened."_

"_Gippal, you can't do this-" Baralai's voice is rising, angry and impatient. "This is ridiculous, you can't just, not at the expense of Rikku-"_

Rikku shrieks and with great force, pushes Trelan off of her. Trelan lets out a loud shout. In an instant, the door opens with a bang. Baralai stands, his arm outstretched, hand splayed against the cold stone. His eyes are wide with fear. Gippal can be seen behind him, frozen on the spot with shock.

* * *

"R-Rikku-" Gippal stumbles on his words. 

Rikku's face is bright with anger and hurt. Her eyes are wide and forceful.

"What's going on, Gippal?" She asks, biting back the sting of pain.

"Rikku, that's- I- it's,-" He replies. Then, slowly Gippal's eye narrows, shock disappearing to be replaced by near instant anger.

"What the hell were you doing listening outside my door? With _him_?" He shoots a glare at Trelan. Trelan gives a disgusted snort and changes his stance, balancing his weight on his right leg, arms crossed. He tilts his head up and stares down his nose.

"What does that matter?!" Rikku asks. "What's this about Pops?" She demands.

"It isn't any of your business," Gippal snaps back.

"What's this about the deal, the funding, the money, me?" She snarls, eyes widening in a challenging manner.

"Rikku,-" Gippal warns, he really doesn't want to get angry at her, but she's being unreasonable. Rikku throws him a dirty look.

"Were you going to break up with me?" She asks quietly. Her voice is hard and monotonous; as though her anger had suddenly disappeared to be replaced by sheer anguish.

"Wha- no, what are you on about-" Gippal says hastily, covering it up. Fuck, how much had she heard? All of it?

Baralai and Trelan watch the exchange silently.

"But I heard it all, I heard everything. _'I could dump her, and forget to tell her. Then later it'll be as if it never happened.'_ I heard that bit, too, in case you didn't think. Or did you think I was too much of a _kid_ to understand?" The anger comes back again.

Gippal cracks a grin. She didn't believe it, did she?

"No, ah, Rikku, I didn't mean that, I wasn't thinking-"

Rikku's cheeks brighten in rage as she sees him grinning at her sheepishly. Like he isn't taking her seriously, like he doesn't think that after all he's seen, she's just going to let it pass and welcome him back into her arms as if nothing's happened. "Weren't thinking?" Rikku lets out a scream of mocking mirth, as though she finds the situation absofuckinglutely hilarious. "Was that why you've been ignoring me for the past five days?"

Gippal's eye widens slightly. "Ignoring you-?"

"That's right, you've been ignoring me, and it isn't as if I haven't noticed, either. Like when you won't look me straight in the eye? Or when you wouldn't hug me back? Or whatever else you weren't doing? That was all because of this, wasn't it,"

Great; none of this was going the way he'd planned it to have. He takes a deep breath; trying to persuade himself not to lose his temper. He's been under plenty of stress recently and he doesn't want to vent it out at Rikku. She doesn't deserve that.

"Okay, will you calm down so I can at least _try _and sort it out like a rational adult,- _without_ yelling at you,-" He grits through his teeth.

"Calm down?! YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST SIT HERE SIPPING ON A CUP OF TEA?! TELL ME, GIPPAL. Have I got any reason otherwise not to be freaking out?!" She suddenly screams, fury radiating from every syllable as she stares darkly at him. 

"Rikku-"

"You were going to break up with me, weren't you, just to get the money." Rikku's eyes shine with furious tears. How dare he, how could he, after all they'd been through, break up with her to get something else, just to save his little self centred dickhead ass from going broke over the stupid Faction, how could he?! Was that all she meant to him? A sack of _Gil_?!

Gippal shakes his head. "That ain't it, kid, I _swear_-"

"Don't act like I mean anything to you!" Rikku yells. For the few months she had spent with him, she had truly, really felt as if it could work out between them, but now, she feels all her happiness and contentment break down into a pile of rubble. It is obvious that the feelings are one sided. 

"Don't you ever, ever lie to me, Gippal," Rikku continues. "That's really you, isn't it? Acting like you care, acting like you want to do this, but no, in the end, what's it all for? It's for yourself, Gippal, did you even think about what I would say about this? Did you ask me?!" Rikku shakes with emotion. "Even when we were fifteen, Gippal, you lied, you didn't even tell me about the stupid Crusaders until the week before you had to leave, and you expected me to just go along with it and pretend everything was alright! Tell me, Gippal, were you really going to _'break up with me and forget to tell me about it'_? Were you really-"

"SHUT UP!"

Rikku hiccoughs, her eyes and cheeks still red and angry. She stops and falters. Oh, oh no, Gippal was furious now. She'd crossed the invisible line.

"Shut the _fuck_ up, Rikku, now, and I _fucking_ mean it," Gippal says to her.

Baralai and Trelan each take steps back out of the door, scared that he might be on the verge of throwing something. Rikku doesn't step down.

Gippal takes a breath. "Are you going to hear me out, or not?"

"There isn't anything there for me to hear you out, Gippal. And you know what? I even told Trelan that I wanted to leave, but he didn't, he said he felt as if there was something wrong going on, so we stayed! I told him that I'd wanted to leave!" Rikku replies; she can tell she's being unreasonable, but she doesn't care. What right does he have to hurt her like that?

"So this is about the trust, huh?"

"You're _damn_ right it is, Gippal, you didn't even trust me enough to tell me the moment Pops came to you, did you?! It was just as well I listened to him and stayed, or I wouldn't have known, -No, you just went off cold shouldering me and treating me as if I weren't even there, it's been like that for the past week, and I thought you were just _stressed_,-" She replies, squashing down the faint urge to cry. She has to be strong, she isn't weak.

"I _was_ stressed! _FUCK_, Rikku, hark who's talking, trust?!" Gippal roars back. Rikku yelling at him like this was so not fair. He didn't deserve it. "You stood outside my door, listening to my fucking conversation, and I'm the one that isn't trusting enough? If that's what you think, you've got problems, kid, and especially, because you won't even fucking hear me out,- You didn't trust me to sort things out on my own, _either_-"  
Rikku flinches. She can see the veins in his neck pulsing. She'd never seen him this angry in her life.

"I didn't want to be with you or touch you or even look at you because every time I did, it just made things harder for me, do you think it's easy? Choosing between my life and my girl? If I kept distracting myself with you, I'd lose my concentration and I wouldn't be able to sort things out, damnit, Rikku, do you think _any_ of this is easy for me? And you wanna know why I didn't tell you in the first place, I didn't tell you 'coz I didn't wanna get you all _freaked out_, I didn't wanna upset you, not that you aren't now_ anyway_," Gippal starts ranting now, all of his pent out frustrations unleashed in a flurry of desperate reasoning.

"How would you have known whether I'd have been upset or not?! This was _Pops_ telling you, you _never_ listen to Pops, what makes you wanna listen to him now?! Come on Gippal! _Don't give me bull!_"

"Bull?! Fucking Yevon, my _ass_ is fucking bull, kid, you haven't heard everything- Will you try and understand where I'm coming from?!"

Trelan suddenly takes a wild step forward and grabs Rikku's arm, attempting to pull her away. 

"C'mon, Rikku, that's enough, let's get outta here," He mumbles, he can tell things are about to get ugly.

Rikku lets out another shriek and violently shakes his hand off her wrist, she wants to continue the argument. She wants Gippal to see just how much he's hurting her. "Let _go_, Trelan, stop it,"

"Fucking don't_ touch her_," Gippal's voice says. The last thing he needs is the idea of his _employee_ messing with his girl.

Trelan swears darkly and turns away. He doesn't want to risk his job. He reaches for Rikku again. Rikku jerks her hand away from his. No, this wasn't over, she hadn't had enough yet. 

"_No_, Trelan, get_ out_," She turns to face Gippal. Gippal pushes her aside, fuming, and stares at Trelan. Trelan was tall himself, he could stare directly into his eyes, but just not quite.

"Trust?" Gippal says softly, the anger gone for a moment. He stares into Trelan, whose face is unreadable. "You call this, trust, Rikku? Getting hitched with a guy like him?" Gippal snorts. "I went for weeks wondering who this guy was that you said you were in 'love' with, I pissed myself when I saw you with him and not me," He motions towards Trelan. "I wasn't even sure whether I wanted to risk it all again, with you, in case you got hurt _because_ of me, and yes, for once, it _wasn't about m_e, and it was about _you_. And you're here again, with him, what am I meant to think, huh?"

"Have I ever given you a reason to ever think I was involved with anyone else?" Rikku points to Trelan. Her tone grows increasingly furious and sarcastic, mocking with every spoken word. 

"So I'm meant to still trust you and go along with it, I can't think twice about it when my girlfriend spends more time with someone else rather than me,-"

"You've been avoiding me. Isn't that why I've been talking to _him_?"

"Oh yeah? Well I really can't wait to see what other argument my little Princess has got stuffed up her-"

Smack.

Gippal's head rears back as Trelan's knuckles slam into his jaw in a swift uppercut. Staggering back, Gippal straightens himself up and holds up a hand to his lip. He tastes blood.

"Shit, the fuck, you really wanna-"

"STOP! STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Rikku screams and runs in between the two, she thinks she might have gone too far. She certainly didn't want Trelan to have to deal with a problem between herself and Gippal. Gippal glares at her, feeling the anger bubbling inside of him. He'd never felt this angry about such a thing in his life, but the injustice of it all, if she just listened, then maybe she'd see the sense and,-

Gippal tries to push her aside again. Rikku pushes back and hits him hard, on the face, breathing heavily.

"Stop this, now, Gippal."

Gippal freezes and looks at her, incredulous disbelief painted on his features.

"Stop this, right now, the both of you," She breathes heavily. Rikku feels the tears come back up into her eyes and the sick rising in her throat; it had all gone wrong. Gippal should have told her about what Cid had said. She shouldn't have been so irrational. And Trelan… Trelan shouldn't have had anything to do with it.

"Kid," Gippal growls angrily; his fury is still at its zenith. "Don't. Push me."

"Don't tell me what I can do and what I can't, Gippal. It was you! Spira, ed fyc _oui_ dryd E fyc eh muja fedr, E teth'd fyhd du necg yhodrehk, aedran, palyica E druikrd, ur, syopa ra'c kud udran, paddan kenmc ra lyh kad fedr, E'mm zicd tnyk res tufh eh rec lynaan, yht huf fryd? Tuh'd damm sa ed fyc uha rika secdyga!" Rikku then yells, tears slip down her cheeks, burning hot.

Trelan shifts uncomfortably on the spot, because he can understand, understand every single word they are saying, and he doesn't like it, because he hears things that he does not want to hear. If only at a time like this he could stop being Al Bhed for once.

"Rikku, E hajan _cyet_-"

"You kids stop that right now." A new voice cuts in. The four already in the room spin around to face Buddy, who is standing in the doorway, stoic and calm. His goggles are discarded today, green eyes burning and clouded with indescribable emotion.

"B-Buddy!" Rikku sobs hysterically before rushing to him. Buddy hugs her close as she erupts into tears, crying desperately into his shoulder. Her words come out unintelligible. She hated fighting with Gippal like that, it was just... it was wrong.

"Now you look here, Gippal," Buddy says. Gippal's eyebrow rises. Buddy? Playing the knight in shining white armour? To _his_ girlfriend? _Holy fucking lying Yevon, the world's losing its bloody grip.  
_  
"Leave her alone, you hear? I don't know and I don't wanna know what went on, but you ain't gonna pick on her, alright? Leave it, all of you. Enough." He turns and pulls a sobbing Rikku out of the way and disappears down the corridor. Her sobs continue to echo through the hallways.

Baralai, Gippal and Trelan are left in the room. The three of them seem to be shocked. Trelan finally gathers his self-composure and casts Gippal one last furious look before turning away and out, cursing again. Baralai reaches out and puts a hand on Gippal's shoulder. He flinches and jerks himself away from him.

"You took her for granted. What if she never comes back again after this, Gippal?"

"I don't wanna hear it," Gippal says wearily. "I don't wanna hear any jack_shit_ from anyone, alright? C'mon, Lai, leave me alone for a bit,"

Gippal hears the door click shut. Collapsing onto the floor, he leans backwards onto his table and puts his face in his hands. What the freaking hell just happened there? Shit, he was in so, so, much crap. Rikku knew, now there would be no deal, no money, no Faction- _'That's really you, isn't it? Acting like you care, acting like you want to do this, but no, in the end, what's it all for? It's for yourself, Gippal,'_

Shit, that had hurt.

But the girl hadn't even given him a chance to hear him out, and he- well. There was no way out. He had said those words, said that he was going to… ah, fuck. Standing up, Gippal lets out a frustrated yell. His hand slams into the table angrily, and papers go flying. His anger is replaced by disappointment, humiliation and guilt, and he slides down back to the floor helplessly. This was all, all his fault, if he hadn't been so rash or calculative, if he hadn't taken her to his advantage, if he hadn't given it a second thought, then maybe she'd still be here, maybe his jaw wouldn't be bruised, his lip wouldn't be cut and his cheek wouldn't be throbbing so angrily where four red welts rose on the flesh, perfect imprints of Rikku's hand… maybe she wouldn't be crying in another man's arms. 

Maybe, he'd still have her. Groaning out again, Gippal gives away to his emotions. He lets out another yell, softer this time, as a tear trickles down the end of his nose and drops down onto the black of his shirt. Shit, he hadn't cried, in ages, ever, not since his mother had- And if Rikku were here, oh if only she weren't mad at him, she'd be holding him and telling him it was alright and kissing his hurt away, if he hadn't been so egotistical and selfish …

Yeah, fat chance, that was. Not after all of this, it wasn't. Not anymore. It was too late now.

* * *

**Translation: **  
Cbeny, ed fyc oui dryd E fyc eh muja fedr, E teth'd fyhd du necg yhodrehk, aedran, palyica E druikrd, ur, syopa ra'c kud udran, paddan kenmc ra lyh kad fedr, E'mm zicd tnyk res tufh eh rec lynaan, yht huf fryd? Tuh'd damm sa ed fyc uha rika secdyga - Spira, it was you that I was in love with, I didn't want to risk anything, either, because I thought, oh, maybe he's got other, better girls he can get with, I'll just drag him down in his career, and now what? Don't tell me it was one huge mistake! 

E hajan cyet - I never said**  
**

* * *

**A/N: **

I'm a procrastinator. And I write long A/N's.  
I just realized something as I was going through my writing, I have no character development whatsoever. Like even in chapter 1 Gippal's already cocky and confident, Rikku's already blushing and sensitive and in love... there's none at all in this story... and hah, who knew Trelan would even punch Gippal in the face? It's like if someone that didn't know FFX-2 read this, they wouldn't understand at all... I don't like that.  
If anyone could help me solve this it would be great, because I have no idea what happens in the process of developing a character, a scenario, an event, anything. So please leave a review or pm me! I'd be really glad...

**What's happening so far:**  
-Rikku and Trelan (ooh btw, pronounced kinda-like-Tuh-reay-lahn-but you can use your imagination xD) overhear Gippal mulling over the 'plan' to Baralai, and Rikku finds everything out, and bam Gippal's in trouble... oh no.  
-Gippal is angry coz Rikku didn't wanna hear him out  
-Next chapter, we find out Gippal's true motivation for such and such.

R&R!  
RC


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